State wildlife officials charge 24 with baiting black bears

Most of the accused hunters are from Loudon and Blount counties and were caught in a sting set by wildlife officials on Monday, the first day of early black bear hunting season in Tennessee, The Daily Times in Maryville reported.

The bust is believed to be the largest in the region, Blount County wildlife officer Joe Everett said Tuesday.

Officials from five surrounding counties began surveying lands near the wildlife area in the previous two months, observing barrels stocked with “meat products, pastries and powdered chocolate,” wildlife officer Doug McKenzie said.

The sting involved two pieces of property comprising several hundred acres adjacent to the wildlife area. One is owned by Lamar Amburn, who was cited in the sting and also owns Amburn’s Produce in Maryville. The other property’s owner was unaware of the baiting being done by hunters who leased the property, officials said.

Court records did not show a complete list of those cited as of Tuesday afternoon, the newspaper reported.

Amburn’s wife, Jill Amburn, confirmed that Amburn was among those cited, and only because he didn’t remove the bait barrels soon enough.

“He came in laughing about it,” she said. “He said it ain’t no big deal.”

According to state law, the feeding of wildlife on private property is allowed up to 10 days before the beginning of hunting, Everett said.

Bears were observed feeding from the barrels on Sunday night. When hunters began arriving Monday morning, wildlife officers arrested 23 men without incident and captured one more after a short pursuit.

The hunters were cited for 32 charges in all, including hunting in a baited area and “miscellaneous charges,” including license infractions, Everett said. Depending on whether they have previous violations, they could be fined up to $500, sentenced to six months in jail and have their fishing and hunting licenses suspended up to a year.