Man Fined for Hunting Bigfoot Without a Permit
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.29.12
Matt Pruitt and the group he works for, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, have a unique business plan.
- Step one: Sell spots on “big foot hunts” for $300 to $500 dollars a spot.
- Step two: Find around thirty people who think this is somehow a good way to spend their money.
- Step three: Hunt along Arkansas’ Buffalo National River. (FYI: Bigfoot is generally reputed to live in the Pacific Northwest)
- Step four: Get fined $525 for “engaging in a business without a permit or written agreement.”
Maybe Pruitt didn’t exactly plan step four. If you believe that a man who leads Bigfoot hunts could possibly be lacking a keen legal mind.
But if you’re doing the math that means the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization makes as much $14,475 for taking people to hunt something that doesn’t exist in a place where they shouldn’t be.
Chief Ranger Karen Bradford of the National Park Service (NPS), one of the NPS rangers who fined Pruitt during one of his expeditions around Arkansas’ Steel Creek campground, explained her concerns, but stopped short of confirming the existence of Bigfoot. “We are in this to protect our resources,” she said to The Republic, “If he’s got people running around in the park, who knows what they’re doing looking for this elusive creature.”
Pruitt, despite the setback, would not have his unflappable dedication to finding Bigfoot questioned. “There were certainly things that happened that convinced me that there are Sasquatches in the Buffalo River area,” said Pruitt. “We definitely heard sounds that were indicative of Sasquatch. Characteristic vocalizations. Very compelling observations.” According to reports, Pruitt was using a thermal imaging device during the hunt and claimed that with its aid he saw what may or may not have been a Sasquatch.
Pruitt paid the fine on Friday and now, it seems, the Bigfoot searches will be back in full swing. Pruitt claims to have already led Bigfoot expeditions in 18 states and has 24 more searches planned for the rest of the year throughout the United States and Canada.
