Bear shot in NC yard leads to charges against 70-year-old neighbor, officials say
A 70-year-old grabbed a shotgun and shot a black bear that was in his neighbor’s yard, North Carolina officials said.
Now, he’s facing charges related to shooting the animal, which died after the encounter at about noon Thursday in Asheville, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
The man, identified as Robert Buchsbaum, is charged with negligent hunting and taking a bear during closed season. In many parts of North Carolina, open hunting season doesn’t start until October.
“When a bear gets shot in the closed season, there’s generally some good reasons behind it,” Capt. Andrew Helton of the wildlife commission’s ninth law enforcement district told McClatchy News. “In this investigation we have found no facts stating any justification for shooting this bear. This bear was just shot for no good reason at all.”
Buchsbaum declined to comment to WLOS.
Officials said Buchsbaum’s wife was walking her dog when she told her husband she saw a bear. He is accused of shooting the bear once and striking the animal again after his neighbor told him the animal on his property was suffering.
“This was a bear that had come through their yard pretty regularly and really had never posed a threat to anybody nor has it ever damaged the property,” Helton said in a phone interview.
Black bears are found in the eastern and western portions of North Carolina and can weigh up to 700 pounds.
While bears usually don’t pose threats to humans, officials urge people to keep their distance around the animals.
To help avoid bear encounters, people are urged to put trash in bear-proof containers, bring pet treats inside, keep pets on leashes and never feed bears, McClatchy News reported.
Officials said the Asheville incident is still under investigation.
