HAB offers reward for recent Ridgway bear poaching
RIDGWAY - A $5,000 reward has been offered by Help Asheville Bears (HAB) to help the Pennsylvania Game Commission for information on who recently illegally killed a bear in Ridgway Township.
HAB, which is a nonprofit organization based out of Asheville, North Carolina and provides services throughout the United States and Canada, is asking for any information with regards to the recent poaching.
HAB founder, Jody Williams said he started the program from his home in Asheville after observing a bear, that his family affectionately called, Peaches that would nurse her cubs a mere 15 feet from his front porch.
“She taught us so much about bears.” Williams said.
But when Peaches went missing in July 2019, the family thought perhaps she had been hit by car or illegally poached. About a month later when Jody and his brother, Alex were in the woods, they saw Peaches. Her cubs were fine, but she was emaciated and missing half of her right limb.
That same day, while watching the news with his parents, Carol and Colonel Scotty Morgan, there was a report of another bear also missing half of a limb.
“That’s when the Colonel said, ‘Somebody is trapping bear in your area.’ That’s when we decided, let’s give a reward to find out who did it because money makes people talk,” Williams said.
He added that once reward announcements were disseminated, reports about three-legged bears came flooding in. That’s when the newlyformed organization began to realize how bad bear poaching and illegal trapping had become and that frequently poachers are selling parts of a bear’s body for black market Asian medicine.
“We created the reward system to get tips and help local law enforcement,” he said.
As a result, Williams added that they have since discovered that almost all bear poaching cases are a result people looking for cash for drugs.
“It’s all about quick money,” he said.
In Pennsylvania, serial poaching or committing multiple illegal kills in a single episode is a felony that carries fines of up to $15,000 and 36 months in jail, according to PA laws.
Williams said HAB has increased in size with more than 300,000 Facebook followers, many of whom are informants who are willing to help with information regarding wildlife crimes.
If you any in information regarding the recent shooting of the bear in Ridgway Township, you are encouraged to contact HAB day or night at 855-SOS-BEAR (855-767-2327).
In addition, if you know of any poaching or other wildlife crimes, please contact HAB.
Williams added that rewards are real and cover crime to any wildlife. You can remain an anonymous and receive a large reward if your tip leads to charges being brought against those harming our wildlife.