Wildlife expert releases recording of himself offering to help tranquilize West Harrison bear before it was killed
Although he was willing to help them, Jim Horton said the department never reached back out to him.
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A wildlife expert has exclusively released a recording of himself offering to help police tranquilize the bear in West Harrison a day after the department said it had to euthanize the bear because it couldn't find any trapping or tranquilization resources.
The telephone conversation was recorded and sent to News 12 by Jim Horton.
He's a wildlife expert who said he was contacted by the Harrison Police Department to help them handle the bear in West Harrison.
"They asked specifically, do I have a tranquilizer gun, and I said, 'yes.' They asked how fast I could get there. I said, 'I could be there in 10 minutes,'" Horton said.
Although he was willing to help them, Horton said the department never reached back out to him.
The shocking claim was shared just one day after the police department said they had to euthanize the bear because they couldn't get any tranquilization or trapping resources.
"You know, it's just frustrating that I could have helped the bear and, you know, unfortunately, now it's deceased," Horton said.
Officials from the Department of Environmental Conservation said the bear should have been left to leave on its own.
They issued a statement on Tuesday saying the bear "posed no immediate threat to residents and had access to reasonable escape routes to nearby wooded areas."
The public information officer for the police department said he is not aware of the conservation with Horton.
However, several community members and animal advocates said they are up in arms about the police department's decision.
"The bear in West Harrison should absolutely be alive today," said Briggitte Dix, of Cottontail Cottage.
"I agree. There's a lot of other tactics you can take. [You] can haze them using sirens or noise," said Patrick Moore, of Animal Nation.
Harrison police said they will explore the possibility of having their officers cross-trained in animal trapping and tranquilization.
Both animal advocates said the situation should be used as a learning opportunity for all law enforcement agencies in the area.
