What standard do we have as hunters for our TV celebrities and those in the hunting media and industry? What standard do we demand of our fellow hunters and ourselves?
Unfortunate incidents like this one with Outdoor Channel’s Wildgame Nation Host Bill Busbice Jr., provide an opportunity for the hunting community to speak up on what is Ok and what’ isn’t.
Bill Busbice Jr., host of Outdoor Channel’s Country Nation and A&E’s Country Bucks was recently fined $23,000 and given a suspended jail sentenced for poaching an elk. Busbice has also has his hunting & fishing license privileges revoked for two years, including in his home state of Louisiana, after a game warden in Wymoming discovered that Busbice had accidently killed a calf elk while trying to harvest a large bull. The details of the case and alleged poaching still seem a bit murky.
News Release from Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks:
NEW YORK (June 27, 2017) – Following charges of poaching an elk in La Barge Creek, Wyoming, Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks has suspended the show Wildgame Nation and host Bill Busbice, Jr. from appearing on Outdoor Channel. The announcement was made today by Jim Liberatore, CEO and President of Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks. The suspension is effective immediately.
“Outdoor Sportsman Group is committed to legal and ethical hunting,” said Liberatore. “We have strict policies and procedures in place that require all of our talent and producers to abide by all hunting regulations. We hold our employees to the highest of standards in order to ensure that we are effectively serving the outdoor community. As a result of the recent charges in Wyoming involving Bill Busbice, Jr., we have suspended the show and Busbice indefinitely from Outdoor Channel.” [Continued]
More on this story: Bill Busbice Sentenced for Poaching
