A central Newfoundland man is facing charges after shooting a polar bear to death near Coachman’s Cove in April. Terry Fitzgerald killed the animal with one shot as it ambled toward his community on the Baie Verte Peninsula. Now he’s facing three charges: firing a rifle too close to a home; shooting a polar bear out of season; and shooting a bear without a licence.
Fitzgerald defended his decision to kill the bear, saying he believed he was protecting his children. “We were just after getting our kids ready for school,” he said. “The kids went out waiting for the school bus, and I went out on the back deck. I saw a polar bear coming out of the salt water. From there, I just took off. I went to my father’s house and grabbed a rifle and went to shoot it.”
He believes the charges are unfair, arguing that no one else was charged for killing any of the other bears that were shot when they came ashore in Newfoundland and Labrador this year. Read more.…