Pennsylvania Felon Charged After Bird-Feed-Bear-Killing and Attempted Cover Up 🐻

I’m currently at the “it’s Thursday already?” phase of the workweek and am unsure as to whether or not that is a good thing as of yet.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get this Thursday morning dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

• Not your feed - Pennsylvania man charged after illegally killing bird-seed-raiding bear 🐻

• Officially official - Gov. Shapiro signs Sunday Hunting Repeal in PA ✍️

• Tragic investigation - Florida family wants answers following teen’s accidental death while hunting 🙏

• Serial poachers - Idaho officials nail pair of men who illegally killed 7 nice bucks 🦌

• Wild horses have no known predators - Video of grizzly bear chasing horses puts ‘Berta officials on notice 🐴 

DUDE LOVES HIS BIRDS I GUESS
PENNSYLVANIA FELON CHARGED AFTER BIRD-FEED-BEAR-KILLING AND ATTEMPTED COVER UP

I suppose no one likes seeing their bird seed being raided, but like everything else in life, we have to find some restraint. In a story coming out of western Pennsylvania, a Karns City man is facing some hefty charges after blasting a black bear in his yard and falsifying a story to wildlife officials.

The incident took place on June 6th at the home of 54-year-old Thomas Risinger. According to reports, Risinger alerted state game wardens about a severely injured black bear on his back porch. When officers arrived, they found the suffering bear exactly where he said it would be and made the decision to euthanize the animal on the spot.

Initially claiming that he heard a gunshot and then discovered the injured bruin, Risinger led investigators to believe that the bear was shot elsewhere and ended up in a heap on his doorstep. Taking him at his word, game wardens began their investigation on the property and soon found evidence that led them to believe that the 54-year-old was stringing them along…

👊 It’s officially official. Pennsylvania Gov. Signs Bill to Repeal Sunday Hunting Ban. A decades-long saga came to an end yesterday in the Keystone State, as hunters were awarded with another day of legal hunting. The historic signing ceremony took place at the Blue Ridge Sportsman’s Club in the state’s capital with Governor Josh Shapiro, the state’s Secretary of Agriculture and the executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission in attendance.

Stating that Pennsylvania is home to the second largest population of licensed hunters in the country (behind Texas), Shapiro expressed his commitment to opening up additional hunting opportunities for busy families and to help bolster funding to the state’s Game Commission.

“Families are busier than ever, social and work commitments can be demanding, and this extra time in the woods is a huge win for our hunters of all ages,” Shapiro’s office said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “The bill also keeps hunters on the frontlines of wildlife conservation by providing more time for them to fill tags, which helps meet the Game Commission’s harvest quotas.”

With the new law now in place, it’s up to the Game Commission to add Sundays to available hunting seasons. The agency has stated that they have every intention of doing just that, although it remains unclear as to when and if they will affect this fall’s seasons.

🙏 Parents of Florida Teen Killed in Hunting Accident Question FWC Report, Push for Safety Reforms. In Newberry, Florida, the family of 18-year-old Malachi Lancaster, a beloved high school football star, is seeking answers following his death in a hunting accident that took place on December 8, 2024. According to a seven-month investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Malachi died from an accidental rifle discharge while walking with a 16-year-old friend in a forested area near Paynes Prairie, just outside of Gainesville. The report suggests the rifle, held without a sling and with its safety off, may have been triggered by a branch, firing at close range. However, Malachi’s mother, Sophie Lancaster, disputes the findings, pointing to inconsistencies in the witness’s account, which initially claimed Malachi fell from a tree stand - a detail that was left absent from the final report.

The Lancasters, frustrated by the investigation’s conclusions, plan to hire a private investigator to uncover the truth about his death. And while the intentions of a loving mother are noble, let’s not forget that neither Malachi nor his friend had completed a mandatory hunter safety course, and Malachi lacked a valid deer hunting license. This mother is rightfully concerned about the lax approach these boys took into the woods that fateful day, but in the end, without the proper training and licensing, perhaps they should not have been there at all.

👮 Two Idaho Men Face Felony Charges for Illegally Killing Seven White-Tailed Deer in Poaching Spree. In November of last year, two men from Saint Maries, Idaho, allegedly killed seven mature white-tailed deer bucks in a poaching spree in the Northern region of the state. Following an anonymous tip, state game officials conducted an investigation that has since led to felony charges filed by the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office late last month. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s investigation revealed 56 wildlife violations, including killing deer outside legal hunting hours, often using artificial light, and wasting meat from three deer. Digital evidence, such as text messages, photos, and videos from the suspects’ phones and social media, confirmed the pair’s involvement in the killing and wasting of the deer, five of which were reportedly taken within a 24-hour period.

Given the on-going investigation, officials have not yet released the names of the perpetrators. Expect more details from this story as the legal process proceeds.

🐻 The Alberta government used to tell these guys that wild horses had no known predators. Ya, well…it looks like that ain’t exactly true. Watch as this grizz gets after the whole damn herd.

Giddy up, fellas…

🧸 Teddy’s Mississippi Bear Hunt: “The President gets the first bear.” That was the command given to Holt Collier, a seasoned bear hunter with over 2,000 trophies to his name, and the greater hunting party the night before the hunt commenced. Little did anyone present know the impact this trip would have on American history.

If there was ever a real-life Forrest Gump, it was Collier. Born into slavery on the Hinds Family Plantation in the mid-1840s, he was the plantation’s meat hunter by the age of ten. When the Civil War broke out, he insisted on fighting alongside his commander, Colonel Hinds. After being denied, he snuck away and sailed up the Mississippi River to meet Colonel Hinds in Memphis, where he enlisted. He fought at Shiloh, witnessing General Johnston’s death, and later fought under the Ninth Texas Cavalry until he mustered out at the end of the war.  Read the full story.

🍺 The Bar on Top of the World : There is a bar at the top of the world. In it, there are no millionaires, no homeless people. There is no advantage in any social status. People are kind because they want to be shown kindness. The beer is cold because it’s better cold. The food is good because it’s homemade. It might be the only place in the world where everyone is equal. As you might expect, it’s damned hard to reach. 

There is only one road running north out of Fairbanks, Alaska. Officially named the Dalton Highway, it is often called the Haul Road. The Haul Road is five hundred miles long and terminates into the Arctic Ocean on Alaska's northern shore in Deadhorse, AK. The road is primarily gravel and takes the experienced Alaskan driver 15 hours to navigate one way. It is interrupted by several landmarks that help to break up the drive. While each merits a story, this one focuses on the "Town" of Cold Foot. Read the full story.

🖋️ Hunter S. Thompson’s Letter on Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life:  As I see it then, the formula runs something like this: a man must choose a path which will let his ABILITIES function at maximum efficiency toward the gratification of his DESIRES. In doing this, he is fulfilling a need (giving himself identity by functioning in a set pattern toward a set goal), he avoids frustrating his potential (choosing a path which puts no limit on his self-development), and he avoids the terror of seeing his goal wilt or lose its charm as he draws closer to it (rather than bending himself to meet the demands of that which he seeks, he has bent his goal to conform to his own abilities and desires).

In short, he has not dedicated his life to reaching a pre-defined goal, but he has rather chosen a way of life he KNOWS he will enjoy. The goal is absolutely secondary: it is the functioning toward the goal which is important. And it seems almost ridiculous to say that a man MUST function in a pattern of his own choosing; for to let another man define your own goals is to give up one of the most meaningful aspects of life— the definitive act of will which makes a man an individual. Read the full letter.

Oh, and one more thing…