Country singer Troy Gentry has pleaded guilty to falsely claiming to have shot dead a bear in the wild, when in fact it was a captive bear, shot in a tiny three acre private enclosure, in a practice known as 'canned hunting' - a trophy hunt in which a customer is guaranteed a kill as the animal in question is captured, or is domesticated, and is released into a small space with no chance of escape. I don't quite understand the law on this, but a bill was introduced into the US Senate last year which basically requested that the practice be made illegal. This incident happened in 2004, however. I suspect that the main reason he fell foul of the law was simply because of the erroneous claim that he had killed the bear in the wild.
The singer, one half of duo Montgomery Gentry, appeared in court earlier this year to face the accusation that he had killed the tame bear, named Cubby, and bought from Minnesota hunting guide Lee Marvin Greenly, in an enclosed pen. Both men then agreed to 'tag' the bear as a wild kill, then arranged for the editing of a videotape of the incident to appear as though it had indeed happened in the wild. A trial was due to start this week, but Gentry's plea agreement means it will not now go ahead. He will pay a $15,000 dollar fine, give up hunting, fishing and trapping in Minnesota for 5 years, and forfeit both the bear hide and the bow he used to shoot the animal.
Gentry said in a statement on his website: "I did participate in improperly tagging the animal I shot, without realising the seriousness of what I was doing. For that I am truly sorry. This has been a humbling experience for me, and one which I deeply regret."
Doesn't care about poor Cubby, though, does he? What a wanker.