Sickening video of a father and son illegally shooting a denning black bear and her cubs has been released.
The video released on Wednesday shows Andrew Renner, 41, and Owen Renner, 18, shooting the bear sow and cubs on Alaska’s Esther Island in Prince William Sound in April 2018.
The footage, shot by a hidden camera as part of a research study, had been withheld by authorities until after the father and son were sentenced in January of this year.
The cubs can be heard shrieking after the son killed the sow bear, before Andrew Renner fires point-blank into the den, killing the cubs.
A video released on Wednesday shows Andrew Renner, 41, (right) and Owen Renner, 18, shooting the bear sow and cubs on Alaska’s Esther Island in Prince William Sound in April 2018
The father and son high-five after killing the bear and her cubs. It is illegal to kill black bear cubs or a sow with cubs in Alaska
Andrew Renner (left) was sentenced to three months in jail and his son Owen Renner, 18, (right in 2014) was sentenced to 30 days of suspended time
‘They’ll never be able to link it to us,’ Owen Renner says to his father after the two drag the sow from den and trade high-fives.
The crystal-clear video shows the son posing shirtless with the dead bear and holding its claws up for their camera.
‘You and me don’t f**k around, we pretty much, we go where we want to kill s**t,’ Owen Renner is heard telling his father.
The father and son butchered the adult bear off camera and took the meat and skin away in game bags, according to police.
Police say that the pair took the skin to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game in Palmer, lying about where he took the bear and saying he saw no cubs.
It is illegal to kill bear cubs or a sow bear with cubs in Alaska.
The video shows the duo returning two days later to collect shell casings and the bodies of the cubs.
Owen Renner held up the dead bear sow’s claws as his father took a photo
Owen Renner poses with the slain adult bear after killing it with his father
The video shows the duo returning two days later to collect shell casings and the dead cubs
Andrew and Owen Renner, both of Wasilla, were charged with unlawfully taking female bear with cubs, two charges of unlawfully taking cubs, and possessing and transporting illegally taken game.
Additionally, Andrew Renner was charged with tampering with evidence, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and second degree falsification.
Authorities say Andrew Renner falsified documentation about shooting the bear when it was really his son who opened fire. He also failed to note how many bears they had illegally killed.
In January, Andrew Renner was sentenced to five months in jail with two months suspended.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 with $11,000 suspended, forfeit his 22’ Sea Sport ocean boat and trailer, 2012 GMC Sierra pickup truck, two rifles, two handguns, two iPhones, and two sets of backcountry skis which were used in the offenses. His hunting license was revoked for 10 years.
Owen Renner (seen in 2014) was sentenced to suspended jail time, community works service and required to take a hunter’s safety course. His hunting license was suspended for two years
Andrew Renner was sentenced to five months in jail with two months suspended, as well as various fines and forfeitures. His hunting license was suspended for 10 years
Owen Renner was sentenced to suspended jail time, community works service and required to take a hunter’s safety course. His hunting license was suspended for two years.
Both defendants were ordered to pay $1,800 restitution, the amount set by statute for illegally killing black bears.
The bears they killed were part of a study by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service.
A motion-activated game camera that had been stationed at the den was recording as part of the study, wildlife troopers said. The sow was wearing a tracking collar.
It is not necessarily illegal to kill a collared bear, though the collar must be surrendered to wildlife officials, and authorities warn that killing collared bears disrupts studies.