Blind 14-year-old bear hunter from Yakima has message for her critics

Maegan Weiler has heard the critics. And she has a message of her own.

“The bear that I shot had a chance,” she told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “The animals that are in the stores and everything, they are born into being eaten. The bear had a chance.”

The 14-year-old from Yakima caught the attention of internet commenters after The Seattle Times told the story of how she went hunting with a Moses Lake-based nonprofit to kill a 300-pound black bear.

Why the interest? Because Weiler went blind at the age of 7.

“Originally it was from cancer but with the surgeries and all the treatments the doctors did, it eventually took a toll on my eyes,” Weiler explained.

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Weiler, a freshman at West Valley High School, told Dori that she comes from a family of hunters — dad, both grandparents, brother and mom. In the previous outdoor adventures, her dad would hold and point the gun and she would pull the trigger. Youth Outdoors Unlimited gave Weiler the opportunity to take more control of the hunt.

Weiler said she used specialized apparatus that included a rifle on a tripod that she controlled with a joystick. A guide looking at a camera connected to the scope advised her how to move directionally and she pushed a button to pull the trigger. The organization made summer sausage and pepperoni out of the bear’s meat and made a rug out of the hide, Weiler said.

When Dori asked how Weiler felt after the kill shot, she said she “couldn’t think” because she was too excited.

But not everyone finds the story heartwarming.

“This is gross. what a poor choice of activities. did she enjoy listening to it die?” wrote CarrieD in the comments section of the Times story.

“I have no problems with those who hunt for food but I don’t support trophy hunting and this was a trophy kill.  Especially for a higher functioning sentient being, that humans are, killing should not be a game nor an emotional thrill just for the act,” added the user named codetalker.

Dori said he isn’t a hunter but that he and other meat-eaters have no right to condemn Weiler.

“I don’t mind if someone else kills the meat for me,” Dori told Weiler. “So I would be a hypocrite to be against someone like you.”

Weiler said she doesn’t pay attention to the haters. And when asked if she had an opinion of the people who criticize her choice to hunt a bear, she responded, “They just need to be educated.”

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