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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man ordered to pay $5,000 for feeding bears

Associated Press

HELENA – A Lincoln-area man who used dog food to attract bears to his property was given a six month suspended sentence Wednesday and was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution – $1,000 for each of the bears that had to be destroyed because they were not afraid of people.

“I feel like I’ve just lost my children,” Wayne MacLean told Justice of the Peace Wally Jewell. “I loved them. I didn’t realize I was creating such a problem.”

However, prosecutors and wardens with the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department said MacLean was convicted of feeding bears in 2003 and warned not to do it again.

Jewell also fined MacLean $1,500, but gave him credit for time served in jail, reducing his fine to $590.

Wardens killed five of seven black bears they discovered at MacLean’s house near Rogers Pass last week, after a neighbor reported that MacLean was trying to lure bears onto his property. A sow and cub were released in hope they won’t seek human contact again.

Surveillance efforts by game wardens showed MacLean putting out dog food for the bears and playing with them.

MacLean didn’t deny those interactions with the bears, and told the judge Wednesday that he would sleep with the animals and go on long walks with them. He said the bears were his friends, and he had named them.

Jewell ordered MacLean to obtain a mental health evaluation, remove all pet food from his property and to call FWP should bears wander into the area near his house.