Los Angeles Times

Idaho official’s hunting bounty draws heat

- By David Montero david.montero @latimes.com Twitter: @davemonter­o

Fish and Game Commission­er Blake Fischer resigns after posting pictures that show him with animals he killed in Africa, including a family of baboons.

An Idaho Fish and Game commission­er resigned under pressure Monday when the state’s governor raised strong concerns about an email he had sent that contained photos of animals he’d hunted and killed during a recent African safari, including an entire family of baboons.

The photos showed Blake Fischer in a crouched position — smiling and posing with the dead baboons he hunted while on safari in Africa. The photo, and others he sent, sparked controvers­y over the weekend after the Idaho Statesman first reported the existence of the emails and the attached photos.

“I have high expectatio­ns and standards for every appointee in state government,” said Gov. Butch Otter, who asked for Fischer’s resignatio­n Monday. “Every member of my administra­tion is expected to exercise good judgment. Commission­er Fischer did not.”

There had been pressure on the governor to seek Fischer’s resignatio­n amid protests on social media from animal rights activists, some hunters and even celebritie­s.

“RED ALERT! ACTION! Commission member Blake Fischer killed an entire family of baboons & babies,” wrote a Twitter account identified as Warrior Activist.

Fischer was first appointed to the seven-member commission in 2014 and was reappointe­d this year, though he would have required confirmati­on by the Idaho Senate when the Legislatur­e convened in January. It is considered a voluntary position. Fischer did not respond to an email from The Times requesting an interview. In his letter of resignatio­n, dated Oct. 15, Fischer apologized for sending the photos and said he hoped his actions “would not harm the integrity and ethic” of the Fish and Game Department.

“I recently made some poor judgments that resulted in sharing photos of a hunt in which I did not display an appropriat­e level of sportsmans­hip and respect for the animals I harvested,” Fischer wrote. “While these actions were out of character for me, I fully accept responsibi­lity and feel it is best for the citizens of Idaho and sportsmen and women that I resign my post.”

Jon Hanian, spokesman for the governor, said in an email to The Times that Otter had been aware of the controvers­y and that since the Statesman article was published, the governor’s office had received about 700 emails and 200 phone calls as of early Monday.

Fischer bragged about the animals he killed during the safari in Namibia last month.

Fischer said in his email that he and his wife shot at least 14 animals, including a waterbuck, an impala, a leopard and a sable antelope.

“So I shot a whole family of baboons,” Fischer wrote below a photo of him smiling while posing with the four dead baboons. “I think she got the idea quick.”

He told the Statesman he was told which species he could hunt and that there were fees attached to some animals: “Baboons are free ... I get it — they’re a weird animal. It’s a primate, not a deer.”

In another caption, he wrote: “I shot a Leopard. Super cool, super lucky. The Leopard is one of the big 5, as in one of the 5 animals in Africa that will kill you before you can kill it. Crazy cool animal. They are normally super nocturnal, so this was really unique.”

Fischer reportedly was caught off guard by the reaction and told the paper that one of his colleagues on the commission was upset by the pictures.

“I didn’t do anything illegal. I didn’t do anything unethical. I didn’t do anything immoral,” Fischer said.

“I look at the way Idaho’s Fish and Game statute says we’re supposed to manage all animals for Idaho, and any surplus of animals we have we manage through hunting, fishing and trapping. Africa does the same thing.”

But Steve Alder, executive director of the pro-hunting group Idaho for Wildlife, said he was glad — though not surprised — the governor had called for the resignatio­n and suggested that this would be “a milestone” in how future commission­ers might be selected.

“I’ve had issues with him trying to monetize hunting, trying to encourage Idaho to get into trophy hunting and putting our game to the highest bidder,” Alder said in an interview with The Times. “He’s been going down that road and I’ve been against that. I think this kind of unethical behavior will be looked at going forward.”

One former commission­er, Fred Trevey, emailed Fischer and asked him to resign “to shield the commission as an institutio­n and hunting as a legitimate tool of wildlife management from the harm that is sure to come.”

“I have a difficult time understand­ing how a person privileged to be an Idaho Fish and Game commission­er can view such an action as sportsmanl­ike and an example to others,” Trevey wrote.

Photos of hunters posing with animals killed on trophy hunts have been hotbutton issues for years, and social media has helped electrify the debate.

Mike Harris, director of the wildlife law program with the nonprofit Friends of Animals group, said the images of Fischer posing with the dead animals was disturbing. He said that in his experience, posing with baboons that had been hunted and killed was unusual.

He said the group had been pressuring Otter to call for Fischer’s resignatio­n.

“The photos speak volumes to what his own ethics are on this,” Harris said. “One thing we talk about when it comes to hunting and conservati­on is to be ethical. You don’t kill for fun. You manage them from a population standpoint and hunting is one of the tools in the conservati­on basket — even if I think that tool is overused.”

Hunting, especially in states such as Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah, is largely viewed as both sport and a conservati­on tactic to keep species such as deer from overwhelmi­ng the ecosystem.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke faced controvers­y this year when his agency attempted to allow grizzly bear hunts outside Yellowston­e National Park — though the issue has been tied up in the courts.

President Trump — with the backing of his elder sons, both hunting enthusiast­s — reversed Obama-era rules banning game hunters from bringing back tusks, tails and other parts from elephants killed in Africa, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife has been allowing more imports of hunted lions from some African countries since Trump took office.

According to the governor’s announceme­nt in 2014, Fischer was appointed along with Lane Clezie to the Fish and Game Commission. Otter called them “passionate sportsmen who bring great understand­ing of the Fish and Game Commission’s responsibi­lities to hunters, anglers, fish and wildlife and everyone who loves the outdoors.”

 ??  ?? BLAKE FISCHER poses with a family of baboons he killed in Africa. He was pressured to quit the Idaho Fish and Game Commission after his photos surfaced.
BLAKE FISCHER poses with a family of baboons he killed in Africa. He was pressured to quit the Idaho Fish and Game Commission after his photos surfaced.

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