A Northern California man who admitted to removing two bear cubs from his lair and notified officials after he could not take care of them pleaded guilty to possession of a banned species, life officials said. wild.
Cody Dylon Setzer, 29, and an unidentified co-worker who did not cooperate with authorities removed the bears from the lair of a tree that had fallen through a forest road, he said Tuesday. the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The puppies were estimated to be less than four weeks old at the time, the department said.
/ AP
Setzer contacted the wildlife agents on March 9, 2019 and told them he had found the bones on Highway 263 north of Yreka in Siskiyou County, the department said.
But wildlife officers distrusted its history after they went out to the site and found no trace or bear habitat.
“Bear cubs are 100% dependent on the sow and if they had been wandering on their own, they would not have survived,” said Captain Patrick Foy of the department’s law enforcement division.
Setzer’s co-worker at a timber management company confessed to the wildlife offices and cooperated with the investigation, Foy said.
“The other person literally took them back to the lair place,” he said.
The site of the lair was east of Salt Creek and Interstate 5 in Shasta County, about 90 miles south of where Setzer said he had found them and that they had been destroyed. Her mother was never located, Foy said.
The bear cubs were taken to the CDFW Wildlife Health Laboratory in Rancho Cordova and later handed over for rehabilitation to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, which they said were the youngest they had ever brought to its facilities.
“After growing old enough to survive alone, the puppies were returned to their native habitat in Shasta County on April 28, 2020,” the department said.
The department posted the story Tuesday on its bear blog to encourage anyone who may witness wildlife poaching to contact authorities.
In November, Setzer pleaded guilty in Siskiyou High Court to possession of a banned species and obstructing a peace officer in the performance of his duties.
He was ordered to pay $ 2,290 in fines and fees and complete 200 hours of community service. Setzer was also released on parole for 12 months with his hunting and fishing privileges suspended while on parole, and was sentenced to 90 days in county jail, which will be suspended if he successfully completes parole. , said the department.
California’s black bear population has grown dramatically over the past four decades. The department says that in 1982 it was estimated that the statewide population was between 10,000 and 15,000 bears. The population is now estimated at between 30,000 and 40,000 bears.
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