Pendleton County Man Pleads in Bear Trapping Case

A Pendleton County man will pay a fine and may lose his hunting and fishing license over the illegal trapping of a black bear.

Forty-six year old Eugene Varner of Sugar Grove was cited after Conservation Officers determined he used a homemade culvert trap to capture a live black bear.   The DNR was alerted by another hunter who found the trap with a bear inside along Stoney Run in Pendleton County.    Conservation Officer Greg Chambers along with Wildlife Manger Mike Eye and State Trooper Andy Teter moved the bear after documenting the evidence and released him unharmed into the George Washington National Forest.

Varner pleaded no-contest to the charges of taking a bear by an illegal method.  He was fined 1,000 dollars plus 159 dollars in court costs.    The DNR confiscated the trap and Varner’s hunting and fishing license could be revoked for up to two years.