Connecticut Man Cleared for Shooting Black Bear that Killed his Prized Miniature Donkey

A Connecticut property owner’s actions have been proven justified after he went all John Wick on a local black bear after it broke into an enclosure and killed his pet donkey.

According to reports, state Environmental Conservation police were alerted to the situation on September 22nd after a Cornwall property owner reported shooting a black bear in defense of his 30-year companion, and pet miniature donkey, Carlos.

Connecticut officials stated that it seemed as though the bear had attempted to drag the nearly 200-pound donkey over the top of the wooden fence. When that didn’t work, officers believed the bear then decided to work the lower portion of the enclosure. While it remained relatively unclear as to which way the bear dispatched Carlos, the property owner was distraught - a feeling that would only be inflamed when officers reportedly told him “to take some time” to bury the donkey and then call them back. 

Notably taken aback by the official’s statement, it wasn’t until he was burying his pet of 30 years that he spotted a wandering black bear by the enclosure that once housed the donkey he was burying. With another donkey and a horse remaining on his property, he and a neighbor installed a trail camera to monitor the area in fear that the hungry bear would return to finish what he started.

The property owner returned to the enclosure that evening with a flashlight in hand and spotted what he believed to be the accused bruin, standing upright on his hind legs, leaning on the donkey’s enclosure. Unsatisfied with the response from wildlife officials, Wick the property owner grabbed his 12-gauge and blasted the animal in the chest. The wounded animal reportedly laid on the ground in agony as the property owner approached the animal and delivered the kill shot from point blank range. Exemplifying a man of focus, commitment and sheer will, he then went on to dig a 5-foot grave for the miniature donkey killer and promptly buried him.

Now that the property owner had blown off a bit of steam (and enacted his own form of revenge), he reported the incident to Conservation Police who requested that he unearth his victim for a full necropsy. Biologists later ruled that the injuries sustained to the bear were incredibly consistent with the man’s story and found remnants of donkey hair and meat inside the bear’s stomach.

"As a result of the investigation and the findings discovered," EnCon police reported, "it was determined that there was no criminal aspect regarding the shooting of this bear. (The property owner) was found to have acted in defense of one of his pets and killed the bear as means to prevent further animals from being killed."

In the state of Connecticut, it remains illegal to hunt or trap black bears, unless of course, such an animal goes after one’s next of kin.

Just last year, the Connecticut legislature approved a controversial measure that would expand the circumstances under which black bears can be killed to protect life and property. And this case fell perfectly under that protection.