Morris County Hunter Who Didn't Kill Pedals The Bear Sues Over Internet Comments

JEFFERSON, NJ— When Pedals, a beloved bear who walked on his hind legs, was shot dead by a bow and arrow hunter earlier this year, fans of his were outraged, taking to social media in despair.

Some of the comments they left even named names, calling out who they believed was responsible for Pedals death. But the man named says he didn't kill the bipedal bear, and is now suing for defamation.

John H. DeFilippo filed a lawsuit against six online commenters that he says defamed and libeled him by saying he was the one who killed Pedals. The comments were on Facebook pages, and comments sections of news articles.

"The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, but not all speech," DeFilippo's lawyer, Wolfgang Robinson, told NJ.com in a statement. "There is no such thing as a constitutional right to make false statements about others. The defendants that have been named in this lawsuit falsely stated that my client harvested Pedals the Bear. He did not."

The Department of Environmental Protection has said that unless a bear was tagged before it was killed, it's impossible to say for sure if a specific bear has been killed, including Pedals.

The DEP has not released the name of the hunter who killed the bear believed to be Pedals.

"As previously stated, bears with a variety of injuries are occasionally brought to weigh stations and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) has no way of conclusively verifying the identity of any bear that has not been previously tagged or had a DNA sample previously taken," Bob Considine, a division spokesman, told Patch. "However, the injured paws and chest blaze of this particular adult bear brought to Green Pond appear to be consistent with the bear seen walking upright on several videos taken from North Jersey residents over the past two years."

DiFilippo's lawsuit asks for compensatory and punitive damages for defamation.

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