Hunter pays hefty price for luring bear with pastries

A Pennsylvanian man has been found guilty of illegally killing a 707-pound bear using bait, and has been fined US$1,800 and ordered to pay court costs plus $5,000 in restitution.

Charles W. Olsen Jr. was arrested in November, after a quick-thinking police officer noticed his car loaded down with pastries, took down his license plate number, and notified Game Commission officials at nearby bear check stations of his suspicions.

The restitution is reportedly the first of its kind under guidelines covering "trophy bears."

Of course, as Law Enforcement Supervisor Dan Figured made clear, the intent was not to save the bear, but to kill it in a more "sporting" manner:

What is most unfortunate is that law-abiding bear hunters in the area were robbed of the opportunity to legally harvest truly a trophy bear by fair chase means.