Breaking news: Wildlife officers accused of bear baiting

By Rick Laney
of The Daily Times Staff

A group of Blount County hunters say two Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) officers were hunting bear over a baited area this morning.

Early this afternoon, TWRA said four men — including two Tennessee wildlife officers — have been accused of running dogs and hunting near a 20-gallon drum covered with sticks. 

Willard Perryman, the TWRA Wildlife Officer supervisor said, “We did find bait in there. It was a plastic barrel that was buried and half-full of fresh donuts.

“The first TWRA Wildlife officer to arrive, Jeff Pierce, did not participate in the investigation because two of the men are his colleagues.

“We have to decide if we can actually conduct the investigation or if we need to turn it over to an investigator from Nashville because it involves our people.

“If we do the investigation here, the first thing we’ll do is go out and interview the accused.”

The bait was found on property off Montvale Road on Chilhowee Mountain. A drive for off-road vehicles was used to access the area.

We'll have more information as it becomes available or in Thursday's edition of The Daily Times.