TRAVELERS REST, S.C., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A man charged with allowing hunting dogs to attack a captive bear agreed to surrender the three caged bears he kept on remote land near Greenville, S.C.
The guilty plea Monday by James Robert Grumbles, 65, of Travelers Rest, originally a felony animal cruelty count reduced to a misdemeanor in exchange for giving up the bears, resulted from a state investigation of illegal hunting and treatment of black bears in the mountains of South Carolina, The (Columbia) State reported Wednesday.
The state Department of Natural Resources has charged a dozen people in the past month with about 50 offenses ranging from killing a mother bear with cubs to killing undersized bears.
Grumbles' bears are among seven captive bears remaining in the state for use by permit in hunting-dog competitions, the Department of Natural Resources said, events that draw thousands of spectators in remote parts of the state.
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While the premise is to get dogs accustomed to the presence of bears, tied to a stake, to prepare them for South Carolina's hunting season, too often the dogs attack the bears, the newspaper said. During a competition known as "bear-baying," a bear might face hundreds of dogs in a day, wildlife agents say.
"You would not do this to a person or a pet of any description. It's just inhumane treatment," said Robert McCullough of the state wildlife department.
Removing the bears from Grumbles' possession is significant in the state's push to end bear-baying, the newspaper said, noting that although the practice remains legal in South Carolina, no more permits for captive bears are issued, and the Department of Natural Resources expects the practice to die out.
