He couldn’t keep this quiet.
An outdoors TV personality who calls himself the “Bear Whisperer” was charged last week with illegally killing a black bear in Alaska.
Harvey Anthony, better known by his stage name of Blaine Anthony, killed the bear at Kenai Fjords National Park in May 2017, federal investigators said May 6 in a criminal complaint first obtained by the Daily Beast.
Killing black bears in the park is illegal. Anthony, 55, is also accused of lying about the location of the kill. The feds said he officially reported the killing happened about 19 miles away on Berger Bay, where hunting black bears is permitted.
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Anthony likely would have gotten away with the illegal kill, but he aired footage of the hunt on his “The Bear Whisperer” TV show. The show has aired on the Outdoor Adventure Network, the Pursuit Channel and the Hunting Channel.
After killing the bear, Anthony took it to Homer, Alaska, to be taxidermied and then had the animal flown to his home in Maine.
On his program, Anthony has bragged about being “one of the only ‘true’ bear conservationists,” according to the Daily Beast.
“Trophy hunters often claim their killing advances wildlife conservation, but these allegations lay bare the cruelty and selfishness at the heart of this so-called sport,” said Nicholas Arrivo of the Humane Society of the United States. “We urge the Department of Justice to seek the maximum penalties available for these egregious acts.”
Extensive regulations govern hunting in Alaska. Ted Nugent and a former Miss Kansas are among the many people to run afoul of them.
