Clayton Stoner, a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild ice hockey team, posted the photograph of himself brandishing the gnarly trophy after a hunting trip last May in an area known as Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia.
CTV News reports the 28-year-old Stoner had permits allowing him to hunt in the area where the bear was killed. After the pictures of him "holding its severed head and paws" were made public, the B.C. native released a statement saying hunting is a tradition for him and he has no plans to quit:
"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 license through a British Columbia limited entry lottery last winter and shot a grizzly bear with my license 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."
But local environmentalists and animal rights proponents lashed out at his strong stance on hunting, branding his actions "disgusting and barbaric."
It's sort of ironic since the team's logo features a "nature bear" head made to look like the wilderness it roams.
Stoner and his friends shot the bear, cut off its head and paws before skinning it and leaving its carcass for scavengers in the forest.
But despite fierce criticism from wildlife supporters, Stoner remained unrepentant to their outcries.
"I don't think there's any place for this disgusting, barbaric, so-called sport of trophy-hunting in British Columbia,"said Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
William Housty of the Heiltsuk First Nations urged authorities to ban the bloodsport, saying, "It's up to Mr Stoner how he wants to proceed from here but we'd encourage him and all other hunters to leave their guns at home."
The incident has reignited passions over an issue that has long divided British Columbia. The provincial government hands out 300 licences each year. Hunting generates more than $300-million in annual revenue for the state.
Whether you agree with game hunting or not, Stoner — who finished last season with 10 assists in 48 games — went through all the right channels necessary to gain the proper permits to hunt legally.
Great example of the small penis/brain syndrome. I assume the bear was laughing at him and he threw a tantrum and kicked his feet while spinning on the ground.
ReplyDeleteGrow up little kid
DeleteI agree with Claytons stand on what he has done and hopefully continue to do and that is to hunt and enjoy the great outdoors with his family. I stand with him and offer this to those who find this activity offensive, don't look at the pictures and don't waste your time reading about his LEGAL hunting adventures and allow those of us who do enjoy both the action and the reading and viewing of such actions in peace.
DeleteNice, although you should of taken the meat. Bears taste good.
DeleteI LOVE to hunt. I do have a hard time with doing it only for trophies. I have eaten bear and it was good. Stews, Jerky, whatever (never tried steaks)but he should have taken home the meat too.
DeleteHunting for sport is a god given right since only man is capable of it. That is, we can tool guns from the earth and use our brains to overcome very stupid animals. Like the winning coach once said to the losing coach who was complaining that he was beaten so badly, in the game 10 to 0, you should have brought a better team.
Deleteahhh . hockey + hunting . Two places a man can still be a man .
DeleteI'm not a hunter but see no problem with hunting Bear or any other wild animal under regulations to assure good population numbers. The animal rights activists need to quit their whining. Man has been hunting wild animals for thousands of years and will continue to do so no matter how much they piss and moan!
DeleteWow! I can't believe this is a story, hunting is a legitimate sport. People hunt, it's part of life.
ReplyDeleteI think its one thing to hunt another to feature yourself in a picture like this knowing there are opposite views regarding hunting and some would consider this offensive. I for one could never injure or kill an animal of any kind. If this is someone's choice then so be it but I surely do not want to see a picture of it.
ReplyDeleteOne could argue that your opinion would also ban displays of affection between same sexes because they may make others feel uncomfortable. While I am not a huge advocate of hunting, this man followed all the required protocol and did nothing illegal. Personally, I would prefer hunters utilize the bear meat as well, but you can be assured it would not last long in the BC wilderness and would be readily consumed by other wildlife.
Deletesince when is anyone guaranteed the right to not be offended?
Deleteso then don't look at the picture.
DeleteThen don't watch. I'm sorry you're offended. You don't get to have the entire western world change their behavior because you're offended by something. Get over it.
Deletethen don't look at it... simple
DeleteLet me add one thing to that post. I am a wild fan and I am hoping Mr. Stoner can get all of his aggression out on the rink this year instead of using it to kill a bear or any other animal. Please convey this message to Mr. Stoner. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt is his God given and legal right to hunt the bear; as for the Native spokesperson Chief Stewart Phillip.. What a hypocrite! All these that read this should be aware that natives hunt year-round in B.C. without hunting permits being required as per their "native rights"!
ReplyDeleteso what people hunt for food and for sport my family and I hunt and its fun an we love it
DeleteGod given right? WHat does that mean? You might be correct about the natives without permits but that is another issue.
DeleteOkay there isn't as much hypocrisy in the Chief's statement as you may think. The one thing the Chief or any of the natives may have done differently would be to use the meat to feed themselves rather than leave it for scavengers.
DeleteWhile I don't condone or like hunting for sport, I'd rather see a NHL player making the news for this rather than rape, DUI, assault, dog fighting, wife beating, etc... - if the worst he is doing is legal hunting that some find offensive people need to lighten up. If you don't like the pictures - don't look at them. Amazing how many people bitch that they don't want to read or see something - like they don't have any recourse but to do so. You have free will - use it to read and view things that are more to your liking.
ReplyDeleteWhen you hunt, you kill what is being hunted. You then skin the animal for the MEAT that most of us eat from one animal or another and you leave the carcass for other animals to enjoy. I'm sure the wolves were very happy with Mr. Stoner.
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for Ted Nugent to comment on this :) Get them Ted!!
My only compliant is that he didn't invite me!!!!
ReplyDeleteIm a hunter and i killed my first bear four years ago and i have him on my wall in my front room! If it was not for hunters and fishing people would not be able to enjoy parks and other stuff that our money that hunter and fishing license pay for to do this! So dont bitch about it we dont with what you like to do!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe only reason this made the news is because he's a famous person.
ReplyDeleteAlso:
Stating how many assists he had last season has nothing to do with anything.
As a hunter myself, the man, according to the article, followed the proper channels. However, the picture illustrates how hunters are their own worst enemy. Rather than post such a picture for all to see, take comfort in the trophy in private. I myself never intentionally hunt for trophies. I hunt to enjoy the outdoors and provide food for myself, family, & friends. Do I have pictures and mounts? Yes. Are they on display in a public forum? No. Every mount I have contributed to my food cache. So, while I support hunting, I do not support the way this picture was posted, nor do I support the idea of leaving meat behind as carrion. In my humble opinion, this picture was in bad taste(no pun intended), as was the statement of wanton waste.
ReplyDeletewell said ..I was waiting to see if ny other Hunters have Hunting Ethics.
Deletewould love to see you tell him that to his face.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't need it for food don't kill it.
ReplyDeleteHow many Fly's have you ate ??
DeleteHunting has always TRADITIONALLY been for food. If he chooses to take a trophy in addition that is his right. However, when you admit you didn't take it for food, just for the "sport" of the kill that is not hunting. It's commonly referred to as killing. That the S.O.B. has the audacity to call it hunting is a perversion of the term. Maybe I should go hunting for hockey players. I'll cut their hands and head off, skin 'em then leave the rest for nature to clean up... hmm, I wonder what that makes me?
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA BURN
DeleteWow it's unbelievable some of the comments made here. I am glad the guy has the guts AND THE INTELLIGENCE to know this is his right and he is proud of it. If he were in "out" magazine saying what a horror of a life he had while "in the closet" people would somehow call him a hero. I don't understand how people consider themselves better human beings by taking this viewpoint.
DeleteREALLY HUNTING FOR HOCKEY PLAYERS? YEA ITS ALMOST THE SAME THING!! FREAKIN MORON!!
DeleteHunting has been going on since the dawn of man.....Done it for years to support my family. But to Publicly display the head - paws or any part of an animal for self reward is simply foolish....I wonder if he used Tracking Dogs to get his ahhh so called Trophy.... Any person using another animal for the purpose of the Hunt... Is a COWARD & No Hunter of any Respect!
ReplyDeleteHunting is legal and accepted by millions world wide. Just because you don't appreciate it, and neither do I, doesn't mean you have to ridicule someone who enjoys it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a hunter, couldn't kill anything. But for those who enjoy it, it is legal and accepted by millions worldwide. Hunting keeps populations down. In Jersey, the bear population has gotten so large that bear hunting was brought back a few years ago to bring the population down. The bears were coming dangerously close to people and their homes, pets were being killed and the danger to humans was becoming too great. Now for those of your morons that would rather see wildlife population growth continue and get people killed I hope it's not you or someone you know that gets hunted by the wild ones. I for one, welcome those who hunt in order to possibly save some human lives.
ReplyDeleteI hope at some point a Grizzly bear hunts him, with the proper permits of course, and rips his head, arms and legs off and sends pics to all its friends, with a big smile on its face.
ReplyDeleteGet a life anonymous. We have a helluva lot more problems than worrying about Grizzly bears. The fact is there are too many of these animals at the moment and that is how he had a permit to hunt them.
DeleteFrankly it's none of our business what he does with the bear after he shoots it. Everything he did was legal.
ReplyDeleteHow many of us throw away leftovers after a meal?
Should I get in trouble for buying bananas and not eating them all before they go bad?
People have been hunting for " millions " of years. Its what we do, if you dont like it, dont freaking look at it! he did nothing wrong here at all. I dont agree with Homosexuals, you dont see me looking up pictures about it...The logic of some of you people is mind blowing, honestly.
ReplyDeleteI hope that all you that are against hunting never eat any meat. It all comes from an animal. Save the whales but kill the unborn children. This should not have made any headline news.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I love the line on how they encourage "hunters to leave their guns at home". Then they aren't hunters anymore, they're hikers!
ReplyDeleteHe did nothing wrong here, and you can't please everybody. Let the man be. Good on him for not backing down.
He had a "Legal" license to hunt the bear so how can anyone think he should apologize. Get a life!!!
ReplyDeleteHockey is a sport. Trophy hunting with a high powered rifle is no sport. He may have followed the proper channels but he big tough guy decapitating a bear is not appealing to anyone but morons.
ReplyDeleteYou really need to get laid! All that pent up aggregation will kill ya!
ReplyDeletePeople have been hunting for years, centuries, millions of years. If it weren't for social media and he being an NHL player - no one would have known about this. Hunters travel all over the world for the sport. Clayton has no reason to apologize for his photo. Quit being pansies and get over it.
ReplyDeleteKeep hunting with your family. After hockey is over family is all you will have. PEACE
ReplyDeleteThat's not hunting. Real, dignified hunters hunt in a dignified manner. I do. So too many others. This Canadian POS ought to wind up like the bear he butchered.
ReplyDelete