National Hockey League defenceman Clayton Stoner of the Anaheim Ducks is facing five charges under the Wildlife Act related to the trophy hunting of a large male grizzly bear beloved by aboriginals on B.C.’s central coast.
The B.C.-born Stoner is charged with two counts of making a false statement to obtain a licence on May 22, 2013, as well as one count of hunting without a licence, one count of hunting wildlife out of season, and one count of unlawful possession of dead wildlife — the latter three offences allegedly taking place on May 28, 2013. Stoner is scheduled to appear in Vancouver provincial court on Oct. 9.
Stoner’s shooting of the five-year-old grizzly affectionately known as Cheeky draws immediate comparisons to the case of an American dentist charged with the illegal trophy hunting in July of a 14-year-old male lion named Cecil, outside Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park in Africa.
That killing earned international condemnation and refocused public attention on trophy hunting.
Detective-Sergeant Cynthia Mann of the Conservation Officer Service’s major investigation unit said in an interview Wednesday that the Wildlife Act defines resident hunters as Canadian citizens or permanent residents whose primary residences are in B.C. and who are physically present in B.C. the “greater portion of each of six calendar months out of the 12 calendar months” preceding both their application for the hunt and the date of the actual hunt.
The legal argument is that Stoner did not meet those conditions due to living out of the province as a professional hockey player. At the time of the hunt, Stoner played for the Minnesota Wild but joined Anaheim as a free agent in 2014. “All five charges are directly related to the residency requirement,” Mann said.
Anyone who cannot meet that criteria must pay to hunt with a licensed B.C. guide-outfitter — typically, about $25,000 US for a coastal grizzly. The charges carry potential maximum fines of $50,000 to $250,000.
Stoner said through the Anaheim head office Wednesday that he did not wish to comment.
Faisal Moola, a director general with the David Suzuki Foundation, said it is interesting that the province has charged Stoner for “bureaucratic reasons” while continuing to allow a cruel sport that is at odds with the “morals and ethics” of average British Columbians. Coastal First Nations also believe it is disrespectful and unethical to kill bears for trophies and not for food.
“The hunt is part and parcel of a very bloody, horrific, painful experience for the bears,” Moola said.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has consistently refused to ban trophy hunting of grizzlies even though 87 per cent of British Columbians oppose the activity. Unlike the hunting of other game, there is no legal requirement under the Wildlife Act for hunters to remove edible portions of grizzly meat from the kill site.
Stoner, 30, hails from Port McNeill on northern Vancouver Island. He played 69 games, had one goal and seven assists, and 68 penalty minutes playing for Anaheim during the 2014-15 season.
He shot the grizzly midway between Bella Coola and Bella Bella in the Kwatna River estuary, an area First Nations had declared off-limits to trophy hunting. Aboriginal people from the area said the grizzly was skinned and left to rot in a field. His head and paws were carried out past a sign declaring trophy hunting closed in the Great Bear Rainforest.
In September 2012, Coastal First Nations declared a “ban on the trophy bear hunt” in traditional native territories, saying they would “protect bears from cruel and unsustainable trophy hunts by any and all means.” The provincial government, which regulates hunting, does not recognize the First Nations ban.
The Vancouver Sun published the story of Stoner’s controversial trophy hunt in 2013. The hockey player had refused to comment until The Sun emailed him a photo of him holding the severed head of the grizzly on a boat shortly after the kill.
He then issued the following statement: “I grew up hunting and fishing in British Columbia and continue to enjoy spending time with my family outdoors. I applied for and received a grizzly bear hunting licence through a British Columbia limited-entry lottery last winter and shot a grizzly bear with my licence while hunting with my father, uncle and a friend in May. I love to hunt and fish and will continue to do so with my family and friends in British Columbia.”
Two aboriginal technicians conducting grizzly work on the estuary that day took the photographs of Stoner shortly after the shooting.
A Heiltsuk native from Bella Bella said he cried when he discovered that Stoner had shot Cheeky. Robert Johnson, with the Coastal Guardian Watchmen Network, said the bear would often approach within 50 metres on the Kwatna estuary.
He said Cheeky would walk through the grasses near a camp established to collect grizzly DNA for research and identification. The bear got his nickname because he would “pop his head up, look at us, and stick his tongue out at us,” Johnson said. “We started talking to him, telling him what we were doing there. We got to know him quite well, to the point we could go in on our boat ... and get off and walk around in the area without having to worry about him.”
A total of 267 grizzlies were killed in legal hunts in B.C. in 2014 — 165 by residents, 102 by non-residents.
B.C. residents pay $32 for an annual hunting licence, non-resident Canadians $75, and non-resident aliens (non-Canadians) $180.
In addition, a grizzly bear species license costs $80 for residents and $1,030 for non-residents. Hunters are required to compete for limited-entry draws for species with lower populations in certain areas of the province rather than hunt in a general open season.
The province estimates there are about 120,000 to 160,000 black bears and 15,000 grizzlies in B.C. While grizzlies are a species of special concern, there are no conservation concerns for black bears.
