Fish and Game Commissioner under fire for African hunts
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho Fish and Game Commission member is being criticized for sharing photos of himself posing with a family of baboons and other animals he killed while hunting in Africa.
Commissioner Blake Fischer and his wife shot at least 14 animals in Namibia, according to the photos and descriptions included in an email he sent to more than 100 recipients. Among the animals killed were a giraffe, leopard, impala, sable antelope, waterbuck, kudu, warthog, gemsbok (oryx) and eland. Fischer says he didn’t do anything illegal, unethical or immoral.
Former commission member Fred Trevey called on Fischer to resign to avoid potential damage to the practice of using hunting as a tool for wildlife management. A pro-hunting group based in Lewiston says just because Fischer’s hunt was legal doesn’t make it right.
A spokesman for Governor Butch Otter told the Idaho Statesman newspaper that the governor’s office is looking into the matter.
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