Idaho Fish & Game Commissioner Resigns Amid Backlash Over African Hunting Pic
Oct 15, 2018, 6:45 PM | Updated: Oct 16, 2018, 1:09 am
BOISE, ID – An Idaho Fish and Game commissioner has resigned amid backlash he received after sharing multiple pictures from a hunting trip to Namibia via email.
One of those pictures showed him posing next to a family of baboons he says he hunted with a crossbow.
Around 4pm Monday, Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced that he had asked for and subsequently received the resignation of Idaho Fish & Game Commissioner, Blake Fischer. The many calls for his resignation quickly spread online, and among at least one former game commissioner, after Fischer returned from his trip.
One photo in particular showed Fischer posing with a family of baboons he said he had hunted with a crossbow.
CNN reported Fischer sent an email, boasting about using the baboons to introduce his wife to game hunting.
Among the 12 pictures of Fischer and his wife were also an oryx, a giraffe, a waterbuck, and a leopard.
The biggest backlash was over the picture of the baboon family.
“I have high expectations and standards for every appointee in state government,” Governor Otter said in a press release. “Every member of my administration is expected to exercise good judgment. Commissioner Fischer did not. Accordingly, I have accepted his resignation from the Idaho Fish and Game Commission.”
Opinions among Utah hunters over the photo varied, many pointing out that Fischer did not break the law.
“Anti-hunters find anything they can to nitpick about hunters and throw them off their game,” said hunter Jarrin Vine.
“I think that if he’s out there – hunting legally – I don’t think it’s really an issue,” Jayden Burton added.
Not everyone was okay with the photo however. Longtime hunter Glenn Mikkelsen felt some exotic animals should be left alone.
“As humans, (we) should respect other species, and certain species that should not be threatened by us,” Mikkelsen said. “There are certain creatures in this world that are put on here for human consumption, but baboons is not one to be bothered in my opinion.”
In Idaho, Fish and Game Commissioners are appointed by the governor. Fischer was appointed to the commission in 2014, and reappointed in June of 2018. His resignation was effective immediately.