Ducks Player Charged in Grizzly Bear Trophy Hunting Controversy

An Anaheim Ducks player has found himself at the center of an international uproar after a picture of him posing with a grizzly bear he killed went viral.

The incident has riled the Canadian government as well as animal conservationists, drawing comparisons to the Minnesota dentist, who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. Ducks Defenseman Clayton Stoner now faces charges in his native Canada related to the Wildlife Act, a Canadian trophy hunting law, according to The Vancouver Sun, which broke the story.

According to the newspaper, the Ducks player faces steep fines if convicted of lying about his residency to obtain a hunting permit in British Columbia.

The hunt reportedly took place in 2013, culminating in the death of a five-year-old grizzly dubbed Cheeky by the locals.

According to the paper, “Aboriginal people from the area said the grizzly was skinned and left to rot in a field. His head and paws were carried out past a sign declaring trophy hunting closed in the Great Bear Rainforest.”

Neither the Anaheim Ducks nor the NHL has issued a statement regarding the case.

After the hunt in 2013, Stoner did release a statement to The Vancouver Sun.

“I grew up hunting and fishing in British Columbia and continue to enjoy spending time with my family outdoors,” he wrote. “I applied for and received a grizzly bear hunting licence through a British Columbia limited-entry lottery last winter and shot a grizzly bear with my licence while hunting with my father, uncle and a friend in May. I love to hunt and fish and will continue to do so with my family and friends in British Columbia.”

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENTS: Is the trophy hunt immoral in an era of wildlife under siege, or is it an important tradition that plays a role in conservation?