Two men who killed a denning black bear sow and her two newborn cubs on Esther Island have been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Anchorage to jail, a hunting ban and forfeiture of their boat, truck, firearms and gear.
District Court Judge Pamela Washington handed down the sentence on Jan. 22 for Andrew Renner, of Wasilla, and his son, Owen Renner, also of Wasilla. The poaching of the collared sow and cubs was recorded on a motion-activated camera set up by researchers at the den to record audio and video, Alaska State Troopers said earlier.
Assistant Attorney General Aaron Peterson, with the Office of Special Prosecutions, told the court this was the most egregious bear cub poaching case his office has ever seen.
“People must know that poachers will be required to pay large fines and restitution for the illegal killing of the animals and that the vehicles, boat, planes, and instrumentalities used in wildlife crimes will be forfeited,” Peterson said. “These are the sentencing provisions that will let people know that Alaska does not tolerate poaching.”
Andrew Renner was sentenced to five months in jail with two months suspended, a fine of $20,000 with $11,000 suspended, plus forfeiture of his boat, trailer, pickup truck, two rifles, two handguns, two iPhones and two sets of backcountry skis used in the offenses. His hunting license was revoked for a decade. Owen Renner was sentenced to suspended jail time, community service and required to take a hunter safety course. His hunting license was suspended for two years. Both men were ordered to pay $1,800 restitution, the amount set by statute for killing black bears.
The killings were reported to wildlife troopers on April 23, 2018 by a U.S. Forest Service employee. Recordings on the camera showed that the Renner men approached the den on backcountry skies on April 14, 2018, killed the sleeping sow and her shrieking cubs, butchered the sow and came back two days later to collect the cub carcasses.
Court documents said that Andrew Renner brought a sow black bear to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Palmer on April 30 and said he had killed it in Prince William Sound. Renner falsified the Black Bear Sealing Certificate by writing on the form that he killed the bear and by failing to indicate “illegal take” in the non-hunting kill info field.
