Man Fined for Illegally Hunting a Bear in Fulton

FULTON - A Schoharie County man has been charged and fined for allegedly illegally hunting a bear after luring it with food and posting pictures of the deceased animal on social media, according to New York EnCon officers.

The man, Randy Nelson, appeared in the Town of Fulton court on December 4 on charges of allegedly hunting a bear over bait and illegally killing it, officials said. He agreed to a compromise of civil penalties, basically a fine, they added.

State environmental conservation officers said they found out about the situation October 13 after initially responding to a complaint about youth hunters who were not with an adult in their immediate vicinity — and that the man was supposed to be supervising them, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Several days later on October 20, officers received a report that the same individual had hunted a bear and posted pictures with the animal’s body on social media. 

The bear’s carcass was at a local processor where officers found it with an incomplete hunter tag — a physical paper that proves that the hunter has the legal right to kill a specific animal during hunting season. Officers also inspected where the bear was killed October 24 and found cracked corn and sunflower seeds.

After confronting the man at his residence, the individual admitted to putting grain in front of several blinds prior to hunting, officials said.

The man faced charges of a tagging violation and failure to properly supervise youth hunters. The person was issued tickets in Fulton Town Court to return on December 4.