Anaheim Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner, 30, has finally pleaded guilty for illegally hunting and killing a grizzly bear without a license in British Columbia, Canada back in 2013. At the time, Stoner had even posted pictures of himself holding the animal’s severed head online, leading to a fight with First Nations representatives, as well as environmentalists who claimed that the bear was 5-year old “Cheeky,” a major tourist attraction in B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest, although Stoner said it wasn’t (although he admitted having been seen with Cheeky just hours before the kill). To prove it, Stoner requested that a DNA test be conducted on the dead animal. After he was charged. Results of the test, conducted by the he B.C. Conservation Officer Service determined the animal was actually an 18- years old, not Cheeky.
Although he was born in McNeill, British Columbia on February 19, 1985, and maintains a home in BC, it was determined that Stoner (who belonged to the Minnesota Wild at the time) had no right to hunt in the area because he was not considered a resident of the Canadian province since he lived in the US during the pro hockey season. He has now been hit with a $10,000 fine as well as being banned from hunting for 3-years, which is little more than a slap on the wrist after 4 other charges, including “knowingly making a false statement to obtain a hunting license, hunting out of season, and unlawfully possession of dead wildlife” were withdrawn following his guilty plea.”
