Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry has posted a handwritten letter on the www.montgomerygentry.com website, apologizing for what he described as the “unethical” method he used to kill a tame bear four years ago.

Troy writes:  “I made a mistake, a bad decision and it has been an embarrassment to both me and my family."

He concluded the note, telling fans, “I am not proud of what I did and I am truly sorry.”

In 2006, Troy was arrested for shooting a tame black bear on an enclosed game farm in Minnesota. He paid a $15,000 fine, served a period of probation and was banned from hunting or fishing in Minnesota for five years.

An animal rights group (SHARK) obtained a video of Gentry killing the bear from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, and posted it on YouTube in October.

Gentry wrote:  “At the time I apologized for the crime that I committed but failed to apologize for the unethical way the bear was taken."

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I am glad he apologized...I was really upset by this..being a fan of animals and also a hunter, this was a cheap way to get a thrill from shooting a bear

~Charli