Commonwealth of PA Pays $500 Each for Sheep and Goat Killed by Bear

possible legal precedent

by Grace Hatton

The incident happened in the fall of 1998 in Northeast PA. A large black bear entered our goat barn and killed and dragged out a registered three year old Nubian female goat. We drove it off and brought the dead animal up to our basement to secure it for the Game Commission to look at. The bear then killed a pregnant four-year-old Finnsheep female in a pasture with other sheep.

We called the Game Commission after the goat was killed shortly after midnight. When the Game Commission official arrived we made sure he checked the ear tattoos on both animals and verified that it was a bear kill. A few days later the Game Commission offered us $65 for the sheep and $50 for the goat which were the current prices of female sheep and goats at the Lancaster stockyards. We declined the offer and were told we could have a hearing on the payment amount. We had to pay $35 for the hearing.

Prior to the hearing we assembled affidavits (notarized statements) regarding the value of the two animals from the President of the Finnsheep Breeders Association, the PA (District II) member of the board of directors of the American Dairy Goat Association, and two other Nubian goat breeders, one of whom is a veterinarian and who had seen the animal in question a few months before she was killed.

We had the registration certificates of both animals showing the tattoos. We also had on hand the American Dairy Goat Association Linear Appraisal form showing the goat that had been killed was appraised as "excellent" in three out of four structural categories - FS 88(+EEE) and was three years old.

Fortunately there was also an article in the Finnsheep Breeders' newsletter about the mother of the sheep that was killed indicating that her bloodline was exceptionally productive.

The hearing was before a PA Game Commission hearing officer. We opted not to have a lawyer present, partly because of the cost and partly because the animal husbandry details would have taken as long to explain to the lawyer as they did to the hearing officer. My husband and I sat at one end of the table and a representative of the Commonwealth of PA at the other end of the table, presumably to make sure no frivolous claims are paid out of our tax dollars. The hearing took about an hour and a half. There was more formality than I was prepared for. There were opening arguments, presentation of evidence, questioning and rebuttal as well as summation and the opportunity to file a brief after the hearing. We did not file a brief, nor did the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth maintained that a goat is a goat and the price at Lancaster is adequate. We got the Commonwealth to admit that you couldn't buy a goat at Lancaster and win with it at the county fair.

The Commonwealth asked what we had paid for our sheep and goat and probably wished it hadn't because I utilized the opening to say how I had not bought the animals, but had bred them myself for generations, continually selecting the best. The Commonwealth nonetheless maintained that any additional value over and above the $50 for the goat was purely sentimental and could not be reimbursed.

Going into the hearing we had tried to make an argument that both animals were pregnant (which we couldn't prove), and that we should be reimbursed for unborn offspring. The Commonwealth maintained that you cannot be compensated for unborn animals since there is no guarantee of live birth. Towards the end of the hearing the Commonwealth made us an offer of $450 to settle the case for the value of both animals. We declined. The hearing officer advised us he would make his decision on payment within a month.

We have recently been advised by the Commonwealth that we will be receiving a check for $1,000 for both animals ($500 each). As the Commonwealth contended, no payment could be made for the unborn fetuses.

I suspect our case sets a legal precedent for valuations of registered sheep and goats in cases of wild animal predation. I would also think that there would be some precedent as well for unregistered animals for which there are production, performance or show records available, provided that the animals have permanent identification. We would like this information to be shared with anyone who can use it.

Grace Hatton, Hawley, PA - - hatton@microserve.net