Father And Son Charged With Killing Mother Bear And Young Cubs

Aug 28, 2018

Many hunters hunt and kill animals to supplement their food supply. Whether you agree with eating animals or not, we can all mostly agree that killing animals for sport is something that should be illegal. Some hunters don’t care that killing certain animals just for the fun of it is against the law, as is the case of Andrew Renner and his son, 18-year-old Owen Renner. 

Both men are accused of killing a mother bear and her newborn twin cubs. However, they are trying to cover up the slaughter, saying that they did not realize that these particular black bears were part of an observation program. They also lied about where the bears were killed. 

The killing happened on Esther Island in Prince William Sound. It was all caught on video through a motion-activated camera that was located outside of the bear den. Police confirm that the 18-year-old shot and killed the mother, a sow black bear

According to court documents, the cubs started to shriek when they heard the gunshot. That’s when the elder Renner shoots the newborn cubs with his rifle.

From there, the father and son team drag the mother from her den. 

They then realize that the bear is wearing a Fish and Game collar, but it doesn’t seem to deter them. Documents state that Andrew Renner can be heard saying that he will be getting rid of “these guys” while tossing out the dead bear cubs into the snow.

He then talks to his son about getting the collar off and how they will just skin it the way it is. They butcher the mother and put her into game bags. From there, they take off. 

Two days later, they return to look for any bear cub parts that are left behind. They can also be seen picking up the shell casings and taking the bear cub bodies with them when they leave. 

Andrew Renner claims that they killed the bear near Granite Bay. He also denied seeing or killing the cubs.

He is being accused of falsifying documents for his statement that the bear was killed elsewhere. He also did not confess to it being an “illegal take” and failed to say how many bears were taken.

His boat, hunting rifles, and vehicle were seized by investigators after the initial arrest. 

Both men are being charged with misdemeanor and felony charges for the incident, which happened in April.

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