On November 27, 2006, Gentry pleaded guilty to
a charge of falsely tagging a pet bear as if it had been killed in
the wild. It had actually been killed in a one-acre enclosed pen
surrounded by an electric fence. Under the plea agreement, he agreed
to pay a $15,000 fine, give up hunting, fishing and trapping in
Minnesota for 5 years, and forfeit both the stuffed bear and the bow
used to shoot the animal in 2004. A statement has been put up on the
official Montgomery Gentry website. Troy Gentry quotes, “I did
participate in improperly tagging the animal I shot, without
realizing the seriousness of what I was doing. For that, I am truly
sorry.”
The indictment stated that Lee Greenly, owner of the Minnesota
Wildlife Connection in Sandstone, sold the tame bear to Gentry for
approximately $4,650 to avoid paying for dental work the bear needed
badly. The tame bear was one of several tame animals housed by
Greenly for use in his wildlife photography business. Following the
sale, Gentry killed the tame bear, named Cubby, with a bow and arrow
while the animal was enclosed in a pen on Greenly's property.
Cubby's death was videotaped, and federal prosecutors charged that
the tape was later edited for Gentry to depict himself as killing
the animal in a normal hunting situation.
Animal rights groups and individuals were outraged at Gentry's
brutal killing of Cubby. SHARK, an Illinois based animal rights
group, sued the U.S. Government to obtain a copy of the tape of
Gentry's killing of the tame bear. In 2010, SHARK won their lawsuit
and obtained the videotape of Gentry killing Cubby, the tame bear.
That video is widely circulating on YouTube and other websites.
On Monday the animal
rights group Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) released
footage on YouTube of country music star Troy Gentry killing a bear
with a bow and arrow in 2006. But far from enhancing his status as a
brave hunter, the video seeks to portray Gentry as anything but.
Gentry, who is half of the country group Montgomery Gentry, had
originally claimed to have hunted the bear in the wild, but in 2006
pleaded guilty to falsely registering the kill, The Associated Press
reported.
In fact, it turns out that the bear, named Cubby, was largely tame
and lived at Minnesota Wildlife Connection, a facility that houses
various animals for access to what it calls wildlife photographers.
Cubby was one of the animals that budding photographers paid money
to come take pictures of, seemingly in the wild.
But court records show that after Cubby developed dental problems,
his owner, Lee Marvin Greenly, decided to allow Gentry to come to
Minnesota Wildlife Connection to conduct a mock hunt of the animal.
Here is SHARK's video, much of which was obtained by a Freedom of
Information Act request.
Mr Lee
Greenly
Facts About Mr.
Greenly
Cubby was a tame
black bear who was used in photo shoots throughout his life until he
developed tooth problems. Deciding it would be too expensive to fix
Cubby’s teeth, his owner, Lee Marvin Greenly (who was charged with
two felonies in this case and also served no jail time), sold him to
Troy Gentry. Gentry then killed Cubby while he was in a small
enclosure.
The bear was
killed in October 2004 at the 80-acre Minnesota Wildlife Connection.
Owner Lee Marvin Greenly sold the bear for $4,650 and orchestrated
the hunt, which Gentry videotaped and edited to make it appear the
bear had been killed in a fair chase hunt, according to authorities.
Lee Marvin
Greenly, 46, Gentry's local hunting guide, pleaded guilty at the
same hearing to two felony charges of helping other hunters shoot
bears at illegal baiting stations he maintained inside a national
wildlife refuge near Sandstone in east-central Minnesota.
Greenly faces a maximum prison sentence of five years for each
count, forfeiture of all-terrain vehicles he and employees used to
reach the bait stations, and a maximum fine of $400,000.
"Lee and I made a deal about harvesting this bear," Gentry
testified. They also agreed to report it was killed in the wild 6
miles east of Sandstone instead of on Greenly's property south of
the town.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson ordered a pre-sentence
investigation for both Gentry and Greenly and told them to appear
for sentencing at a date to be announced later, or risk an
additional charge.
On March 14, 2007, Lee Marvin Greenly was voted in as animal control
officer for the city of Askov Minnesota. Animal Officer: deputy
clerk Connie Ecklund informed the council of the findings of cost
and procedures with Lee Greenly; he captures any thing from bears to
skunks, retrieving cost is $40-$50 includes put-down and disposal,
dart gun use $200 and Greenly usually finds a home for the animals
retrieved. Deputy clerk Connie Ecklund stated that he will go by our
standards if we wish and we can formulate a contract. Motion made by
Maloney, seconded by Weulander to allow Lee Greenly to be our Animal
Officer. Motion carried 4-0.
March 16, 2005
PRESENTATION OF AWARDS, PETITIONS OR COMPLAINTS
Johnson raised the issue of animal control on weekends. Griffith
responded that there are several animal control people to be
contracted. When questioned about dealing with feral cats he stated
that Lee Greenly has trapped and disposed of nuisance animals in the
past.
May 4, 2005
Petition for removal of wild cats
The City has received a petition from the residents of Johnson’s
trailer park to contract with Lee Greenly to trap and dispose of
wild cats in that area.
Gafkjen questioned whether the City should bear the financial burden
for live trapping of these cats. Johnson suggested that the trailer
park establish some rules regarding the number of cats an individual
resident may own and the control of those animals.
Griffith pointed out that while this is a problem in the trailer
park, it also is a city issue which impacts the health and safety of
city residents. He also suggested that if the trapping were to be
undertaken, the residents would have to be notified to restrict
their pets to the indoors during the trapping period.
Motion Gafkjen, second Johnson to authorize permission for Lee
Greenly to live trap for wild cats at Johnson’s trailer park with
the fee to be paid to be negotiated. Motion carried 5-0.
Minutes of the Askov City Council
January 20, 2010
Impound and Pound Fees & Animal Control Officer Pay - as per annual
agreement with Lee Greenly
Lee Marvin Greenly, owner of Minnesota Wildlife Connection, has been
involved in a number of incidents where animals ended up injured or
dead for ghastly reasons and, in some cases, humans were put in
danger, too. A captive wolf in Minnesota had to be euthanized after
it was allowed to approach a young girl and bit her. The wolf was
owned by Lee Greenly of the Minnesota Wildlife Connection, a
business that sells photographing opportunities. Paying customers
have the opportunity to take pictures of wildlife in a naturalistic
setting and can pay an additional fee to be photographed with
animals like bear, cougar and wolves.
A four-year-old girl from northern Minnesota is recovering tonight
after her family says a wolf knocked her to the ground and bit her.
This wasn’t a wild wolf, though. It’s domestic, owned by a man who
lets people get up close to wildlife for a living.
Four-year-old Johnna Kenowski, known to her family as Johnny Mae, is
normally all giggles and smiles. But if you take a closer look at
her face, you’ll see what she calls her “owies” — a scab on her
nose, a cut above her eyebrow, and a big scratch on her arm.
Johnny Mae’s aunt, Maja Dockal, says she and the girl were walking
in Banning State Park near Sandstone Tuesday, when they came across
a group photographing a domestic gray wolf and three cubs. Dockal
says all of a sudden the adult wolf came up to Johnny Mae, then
pushed her to the ground and bit her on the head.
A man named Lee Greenly owns the wolves and was able to get the wolf
off the girl. Greenly owns Minnesota Wildlife Connection.
Linda Ziegler says she let her 5-year-old dachshund, Jenny, outside
just before noon last Thursday. Ziegler was standing on her front
steps when two timber wolves appeared. “The minute they spotted her,
well that was the end,” said Linda. “They went right after her and
they killed her. And they were carrying her around the yard and
there was no one around anywhere. So I was under the impression that
these two were wild.” The wolves belong to the Minnesota Wildlife
Connection. Founder Lee Greenly says the business provided the
animals for a photo shoot near the Ziegler’s property when the
wolves wandered a little too far.
Contact Minnesota Wildlife Connection for Wildlife Photography
www.minnesotawildlifeconnection.com
Contact Minnesota Wildlife Connection for the best wildlife and
nature photography in the mid-west.
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