A California man has pleaded guilty to snatching two bear cubs from their mother’s den.
Cody Dylon Setzer, 29, has admitted to taking the pair, each less than four weeks old at the time, and later claiming he had found them on a roadside, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday.
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“Wildlife officers determined Setzer and a co-worker at a local timber management company took the cubs from a den inside a tree that had fallen across an access road to a work site,” the department wrote.
Officials became aware of the cubs after Setzer called on March 9, 2019, to report he had found them on the roadside. After assessing the site Setzer reported, officials found no tracks to indicate they ended up there on their own.
The cubs were later transported to the Wildlife Health Laboratory in Rancho Cordova, where forensic scientists determined the cubs were likely born in Sacramento River canyon — more than 90 miles from where they were found.
The cubs’ sow was never located.
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On Nov. 17, 2021, Setzer pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited species and obstructing a peace officer in their duties. As part of his plea, Setzer was ordered to pay $2,290 in fines and fees, complete 200 hours of community service, and be placed on probation for 12 months.
The bear cubs went to a facility for long-term rehabilitation and returned to the wildlife in Shasta County on April 28, 2020.
