Bear League pleads innocent to illegal cub movement

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2000 | 4:56 a.m.

Ann Bryant's plea in Placer County Superior Court sets the stage for a trial early next year in a case that pits her against the California Department of Fish and Game.

Following Tuesday's brief hearing in Tahoe City, Bryant was booked by sheriff's deputies on misdemeanor charges of unlawful taking and possession of a wild animal and then released.

Bryant, who founded the Bear League, was contacted by employees at Squaw Valley and told of an ailing black bear cub that was begging for food at a resort barbecue area. Convinced the cub could not be successfully chased away, Bryant decided to take the animal to the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in South Lake Tahoe.

Despite warnings by telephone to leave the bear alone, she removed the animal, leading to the misdemeanor charges.

She says that it would not have been acceptable to turn her back on the animal and let it die.

Bryant's lawyer contends she is charged under codes that usually are applied to poaching, not rescue.

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