Wardens in the Spotlight

State Department of Fish and Game wardens contend that they get a bad rap in the press.

Among recent news coverage involving wardens:

* In June, 1993, after a fatal virus was discovered at the Venice canals, Fish and Game wardens rounded up and killed more than 300 Venice-area ducks, fearing that they would infect migrating wildfowl. Residents launched massive protests, leaving flyers, balloons and flowers at the site “in respect for our dear loved ones.”

* In May, Azusa police shot a 350-pound black bear that had wandered into a neighborhood. Initially, Warden Mark Jeter fired two tranquilizer darts at the bear, which grew groggy. But the bear was killed by 14 shots fired by four police officers after it left a containment area.

* In September, a 400-pound black bear was trapped in a Monrovia neighborhood after neighbors reported that he had been taking avocados from neighbors’ trees and taking dips in hot tubs. The Department of Fish and Game has a policy to euthanize animals that stalk neighborhoods and show no fear of people. But Gov. Pete Wilson intervened, and Samson the bear was eventually taken to the Orange County Zoo.

* In November, South Pasadena resident Paula Drake announced that she would defy an order by state Fish and Game officials to release 18 sick or injured squirrels that she rehabilitates at her home. Fish and Game officials eventually backed off from enforcing the state policy that qualifies squirrels as wildlife and prohibit their domestication.