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Residents of the small community of Mountain in San Bernardino County are under fire for shooting and killing a bear that got into a chicken coop last week.
An Arrowbear Lake resident, identified only as Chris, reported the Nov. 13 shooting on Fox Lane to the county sheriff’s department, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the homeowner He said he was justified in shooting the animal.
California Fish and Game Code 4181.1 states, “If a bear is encountered during an act that injures, sexually assaults, or kills livestock, the owner of the livestock may immediately capture the bear.”
“Everybody here, I love bears. We coexist with them,” Mike Kutz, a neighbor who heard the shooting, told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson. “I heard three or four gunshots, and then a few minutes later two more.”
A home in the San Bernardino Mountains where a bear was shot and killed on November 13, 2024. (KTLA) A home in the San Bernardino Mountains where a bear was shot and killed on November 13, 2024. (KTLA) A bear was shot and killed in the San Bernardino Mountains on November 13, 2024. (KTLA) A chicken coop at a home in the San Bernardino Mountains where the homeowner shot and killed a bear on November 13, 2024. (KTLA) )
Kutz added that the bear is not a stranger to the neighborhood and appears to be wary of humans.
“He just walked down the street and when I opened the door to the shed he ran,” he said. “He wouldn’t stop and look. He would run away right away.”
The homeowner who shot the bear spoke briefly to KTLA because he had previously reported to the sheriff’s department that the animal had accused him.
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“He had gotten into the chicken coop. Like I said, talk to the sheriff and he’ll give you the details,” he explained. “I’ve done everything I can to keep this bear out. I had an electric fence up and the bear got through it no matter what. I had a lot of deterrents, but the bear… They kept coming. I sprayed him with bear spray, but he kept coming.”
Although the shooting is considered justified, it has drawn much criticism from other mountain residents, especially online, with many saying they were sad to see it end like this.
“If they say fish and game are legit, then I think it’s legit,” Arrowbear Lake resident Eric Rial told KTLA. “I love animals, so it pains me to see a bear get shot in this situation.”
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