NHL Player Charged for Hunt That Killed Grizzly Bear Named ‘Cheeky’

Clay Stoner of the Anaheim Ducks has been charged with five alleged violations related to a 2013 hunt in which a grizzly bear named “Cheeky” was killed.

The charges come under the auspices of the Wildlife Act and include “two counts of making a false statement to obtain a license on May 22, 2013, as well as one count of hunting without a license, one count of hunting wildlife out of season, and one count of unlawful possession of dead wildlife.”

According to The Vancouver Sun, the Conservation Officer Service’s detective-sergeant Cynthia Mann claims Stoner allegedly hunted with a license for a “Canadian Citizen or permanent resident” but without meeting the stipulations for such a license. She indicated that a person with such a license is required to spend the “greater portion of each of six calendar months out of the 12 calendar months” preceding the hunt—and even preceding the license application—in British Columbia. Although Stoner is originally “from Port McNeill on northern Vancouver Island,” Mann claims his NHL travels kept him from meeting the licensing stipulations.

Grizzly bear hunting license fees for residents are relatively cheap—”a grizzly bear species license costs $80 for residents and $1,030 for non-residents.” But for those who are neither a Canadian resident nor a Canadian citizen, the cost goes up exponentially to about “$25,000 US for a coastal grizzly.”

The defenseman commented on the hunt in 2013 after photos surfaced of him holding the head of “Cheeky” (pic at top of the page not Cheeky the bear). At that time Stoner said:

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.

Stoner is scheduled to appear in Vancouver provincial court on October 9. He has issued no statement relating to the charges to date.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.