Question: I went hunting with my brother-in-law recently. He was
hunting for bear and I was hunting for mountain quail and gray
squirrels. He had a bear tag and I didn't. Fortunately, he was lucky
enough to shoot a nice one that was about 200-250 lbs. We were unable at
the time to take the whole bear home so he decapitated the bear, stuffed
the head in his backpack and gave me about 50 lbs. of meat to take home
in my backpack. We left the rest of the body there and agreed to go back
for it later. When we got home, he asked his brother and me to pick up
the rest of the body because he had to go to work. I refused to do so
because I thought it would not be legal since I was not the shooter. He
told me it should be all right and that if I was stopped by the
Department of Fish and Game (DFG), I should just call him at work to
verify the kill. I still didn't go and we got into an argument. In this
situation, could I have been cited for taking the bear meat without the
shooter being present? Thanks! (Alex V.)

Answer: If you accompany a person in the field who is legally hunting
bear and you have a firearm, archery equipment or other means capable of
taking a bear, then it is reasonable to assume you are also taking bear.
In addition, you could also be cited if you do not have a valid bear tag
of your own. Your explanation that you were hunting squirrels would
likely not be acceptable to a game warden, especially given that you
helped transport some of the bear.

According to Assistant Chief Mike McBride, by leaving much of the bear
carcass in the field as your brother-in-law did, he risked having the
meat spoil, which would be a violation of the Fish and Game law that
prohibits wasting game (CCR Title 14 Section 4304). You and/or another
person returning the next day to retrieve the remainder would not have
been a violation unless you also brought firearms or another method of
take. A warden would consider your possession of a firearm to be prima
facie evidence (meaning that the facts of the situation appear to be
self-evident to a reasonable person) that you illegally took the bear
pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 2000.

At the time a bear is shot, the bear tag must be validated and
immediately attached to the ear of the bear. If this was done and you
had with you 1) a copy of the original tag showing it had been properly
filled out and validated, 2) a copy of your brother-in-laws license and
all contact information for him, and 3) a note authorizing you to
retrieve the remainder of the animal for him, you probably would have
had sufficient evidence to prevent you from being cited (a
counter-signature from DFG on the tag would be even better).

Be aware that this whole scenario would send up red flags to any game
warden you encounter and we would expect them to fully investigate this
situation. Hunters who can allocate time to kill an animal must also
plan ahead and allocate appropriate time to take it completely out of
the field.

In short, we do not recommend what your brother-in-law proposed but it
can be done legally if reasonable decisions are made and appropriate
methods utilized. In hindsight, your brother-in-law should have been
prepared to transport this bear out immediately to have avoided this
whole situation.

Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at CalOutdoors@wildlife.ca.gov.