Three arrested for barbecuing bear meat

Three Bay County residents have been charged after they killed a bear and served the meat at a Christmas party in Fountain.

The suspects’ names are not available at this time.

The three people have been charged with illegal possession of black bear meat and one additional charge of killing a black bear, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They were arrested last week.

The bear was killed with a 12-gauge shotgun in Calhoun County and then brought to Bay County to be skinned, butchered and barbecued for the Christmas party.

FWC investigators used DNA collected from the animal’s remains to confirm that the meat was that of a black bear.