Man cited for killing black bear in his yard

A man has been ticketed for illegally shooting a bear in this town of Shandaken hamlet, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The man, a Phoenicia resident whose name was not provided, was cited after the environmental department and Shandaken police were notified about 11 p.m. Oct. 11 about a firearm being discharged in a residential area.

The incident happened at 10 Main St., according to Shandaken Police Chef Chad Storey.

Officers from the town and state agencies found a black bear in a backyard that had been fatally shot. The man who shot the bear told officers he did so out of fear, but an investigation found no evidence to support that claim, the state agency said.

Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Wendy Rosenbach said there were no signs the bear had broken into the man’s home or tried to do so. The state officer did find trash strewn about the man’s backyard, Rosenbach said.

The man was ticketed under the state’s Environmental Conservation Law for illegally shooting a bear and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of nearby houses, Rosenbach said.

The agency spokeswoman said it’s legal to kill a bear without a permit if the animal has attacked or tried to injure a person or pet; has broken into a house; or is destroying livestock or an apiary, but that authorities must be notified immediately after. Also, she said, the state can issued a permit for a landowner to kill a bear if there is proof the animal is causing property damage.

Asked why she would not provide the name of the Phoenicia man who was ticketed, Rosenbach said: “We don’t typically release that information.”

A person answering the phone at the Department of Environmental Conservation’s main office in Albany also would not provide the man’s name.

The man is to appear in Shandaken Town Court.