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[nastygunz]

Bear Takes Ryegate Livestock In Attacks

BY TODD WELLINGTON

Staff Writer

Four fenced-in goats and a donkey were killed by a bear in two attacks during the Easter holiday in Ryegate.

Vermont Fish and Game officials said tracks at the scene indicate the attacker was bear, likely hungry for food in the early spring. There have been no attacks since then and officials say the bear has likely moved on now that more food is available.



Bayley-Hazen Road resident Dover Ford said that one night, just before Easter Sunday, she heard a strange sound coming from her barn area. The next morning she went to the barn and found that one of her goats " a 150-pound breeding buck " had been killed in its lean-to pen.



A few days later, on Easter Sunday night, she lost three more goats and her 28-year-old miniature donkey named "Banjo" when the bear struck again. Game wardens said some of the animals had been partially consumed.



"It was terrible," Ford said. "This bear was making everybody nervous."



Ford said she has had sheep at her farm for more than 30 years and the only other time she had a similar problem was a coyote attack 28 years ago.



Vermont Fish & Wildlife district warden Mark Schichtle investigated the attacks. 

He said residents have a right to protect their livestock and he helped Ford arrange for some local hunters to stake out the barn area overnight in case the bear came back.



"They did it for four nights, but the bear did not return," Schichtle said. "It could be anywhere by now."



Schichtle says that while bear attacks in Vermont are not a common occurrence, they do happen on occasion.



"Bear taking livestock ... it's not unprecedented," he said. "We counsel the land owner, and in most instances, they take it by themselves."



Although the law does allow for killing a bear in defense of livestock, Schichtle said there are rules that need to be followed.



The bear would have to be shot in the immediate area where the attacks took place and by a single armed hunter who is either the livestock owner or someone acting directly on his or her behalf.



"It's not an open season for bear," Schichtle said. "If it was someone other than the land owner, or the land owners' designee, then they would be poaching bear and they would prosecuted," he said.



Vermont's black bear hunting season begins Sept. 1 and runs through Nov 17. A state hunting license is required to take part.



Schichtle said people who suspect their animals have been attacked by a bear or coyote should report it to their local game warden.



Warden contact information, state bear hunting regulations and hunting license applications are available online at the Vermont Fish and Game Web site: www.vtfishandwildlife.com.



Vermont residents can also reach game wardens by calling their local state police barracks.