The footage released by the Humane Society shows the two men shoot into the den as the cubs can be heard screaming

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Surveillance video showing an Alaska father and son illegally killing a black bear and her shrieking cubs after locating them as they hibernated – and then boasting that they would never be caught – has been made public.

The video released by the Humane Society shows Andrew Renner and his son Owen on skis approaching the bear den on Esther Island in Prince William Sound, and then illegally shooting the three bears inside.

The slaughter took place in April last year and the Alaska department of public safety released the video on Thursday in response to a public records request from the Humane Society, according to local TV station KTTU.

A wildlife camera had been set up to monitor these particular bears because they were part of a study, according to the Humane Society.

The footage shows the father and shirtless son shoot into the den, as the cubs can be heard screaming. They yank out the dead mother bear and then exchange high fives. “They’ll never be able to link it to us, I don’t think,” one of the men can be heard saying.

The son poses for a photo kneeling behind the dead bear and holding up its paw. “You and me don’t fuck around,” one of the men says. “We go where we want to kill shit.”

Another video shows the men returning to the spot two days later to remove shell casings and remove the cubs’ bodies in plastic bags.

Killing bear cubs or a mother with her cubs is illegal in that area.

Andrew Renner was sentenced to five months in jail with two months suspended and a fine of $20,000, with $11,000 suspended, according to KTTU. He also had to forfeit the guns, skis and truck used on the trip. Owen was sentenced to suspended jail time and community service. Both men had their hunting licenses suspended.

“This brutality could soon be the law of the land on national preserves in Alaska,” the Humane Society tweeted. The group is opposing a Trump administration push to roll back protections for wildlife on Alaska’s national preserves.