Editors Note : Deputy Mayor Sedon could not be reached for comment
By Dave Hutchinson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 17, 2016 at 8:03 PM, updated October 18, 2016 at 8:12 AM
Since he was accused all over social media of being the hunter who shot and killed Pedals the bipedal bear, Thomas McCreary said people have threatened to kill him and his family, rape his wife and sister, burn his home and business, even come to the business to “shoot it out” with him.
The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bob Considine confirmed Monday that McCreary was not the person who turned a bear in that appears to be Pedals, which became an internet sensation last year through a number of videos on social media.
That bear was brought to Green Pond station in Rockaway on Oct. 10 during last week’s extended bear hunt. Although the DEP said there’s no way to verify if the bear is Pedals, the agency said is appeared to be the same bear.
McCreary said on Monday he did not kill the bear, nor did he take part in this year’s extended hunt. McCreary showed NJ Advance Media his 2016 Zone 4 black bear hunting permit. If he had turned a bear in at a check-in station, the “Black Bear Transportation Tag” would have been removed from the permit, he said.