Help Free Bob!
 

Bob is currently locked up, through no fault of his own, and folks are scrambling to get a campaign complete with petition going to help him reclaim freedom. Please help free Bob!

Fittingly, Moosehead Breweries in Saint John, N.B. have stepped up and will be taking over all legal expenses! They have also added the campaign to free Bob to their corporate web site along with a link to the petition: http://www.moosehead.com/corporate/freebob.html


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April 4, 2006

Your mission: To help Free Bob!
Join the petition to set loose this kingly piece of Canadiana, seized by the province's ministry of natural resources
By MARK BONOKOSKI

Our mission today, should you choose to accept, is to vigorously launch the Free Bob campaign -- to set loose what's left of a moose that is being held in captivity by enforcement officials within the ministry of natural resources.

It may seem frivolous, but it is not.

Frivolous is to concern ourselves with today's speech from the throne, with Iraq and Afghanistan, with the price of gas at the pumps, and with whether Pamela Anderson's near-baring of her puppies at the Junos will save a single seal.

Those scenarios are out of our control.

We are here today to free a moose head named Bob.
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April 1, 2006
No excuse for moose
How was he to know it was illegal to sell the thing?
By TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, SPECIAL TO THE SUN

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Ken Procyk, seen with girlfriend Stacey Madden in 1990 when they were both aged 16, poses with Bob at the Procyk family cottage near Kingston. The magic moose later led to a marriage. Bob, meanwhile, is in lockup.


NEWMARKET -- A man who was hauled into court after he sold a stuffed moose head on eBay says he's going to fight to the end to get "Bob" back.

"This is ridiculous," Ken Procyk, 34, said yesterday after rejecting a Crown offer to settle the case.

The Aurora businessman said he had no idea selling the majestic moose head that his family fondly nicknamed Bob was against the law.
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March 28, 2006

Man fined for selling a moose head on eBay
By MARK BONOKOSKI

Two Ontario conservation officers -- complete with field kit of bulletproof vests and sidearms -- show up at Ken Procyk's Aurora home one day and pull out their ID.

Introductions and formalities over, one cuts to the chase.

"Are you trying to sell a moose head on eBay?" he asks.

"No," replies Procyk. "I've sold a moose head on eBay. Why? Is there some kind of problem?"

And so it began.
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Canadian whiskey must be stronger then I thought.

Poor Bob! :( :( :(

If Bob would quit wearing that silly party hat, he may get the respect he wants.

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking the law."

At least that's what the cop told me when I tried to get out of a ticket.

But Bob is innocent! :eek: :D
Besides, not everyone can know every law. Apparently there's an old ordinance still on the books in Milwaukee that says it is illegal to park for over two hours unless a horse is tied to the vehicle. :eek: Bet you've broken that one! :p

(gotta see if I can verify that law and get the exact wording and fines :D )

I never said I agreed with it, I was just repeating what i was told. Milwaukee has lots of old, strange laws.

It is illegal for more than 4 unrelated, unmarried women to live in the same house. It was an old anti-brothel law.

No Barberry bushes may be planted on public land. Oddly enough, city hall has a row of Barberry bushes in its garden.

The law I use to my advantage all the time is Milwaukee's definition of Jay-walking. It is worded that crossing the street within the crosswalk against the traffic lights is illegal. That means that you can cross in the middle of the street without getting a ticket as long as you stay out of the crosswalk. :confused:

Then there are the bizarre building codes. Those have since been fixed when the city adopted the standard international building codes in 2002, but here are a few examples:

We had city sewer capacity problems, but yet prior to 2002, it was illegal to divert your downspouts out of the sanitary sewer system. No rain gutters running into your garden allowed. :confused:

You were required to have a floor drain in your basement, yet it was illegal to install a check valve so sewage wouldn't back up into your basement. Most plumbers just installed the check valve after the inspector left and capped the floor drain.

There are many more related to horses, but I can't remember them right now.

My question is if he was perfectly happy selling it to a bar in America, why is he fighting to get Bob back? Why isn't he fighting to get Bob sold?

Maybe he plans to sell it to a middle man in another province that allows exporting of Moose heads.

What if he moved to the states, could he bring Bob with him?

So many questions...

I can see how it might be misunderstood. Under the law, if Ken Procyk accepts the offer and pleads guilty on May 19th and pays a $250 fine, then Bob is forfeited to the Crown and will probably simply be destroyed. That is the crux of the matter. Hence, folks want to "Save Bob".

There is a kind of loophole which could be applied to save Bob, however. "A thing -- (aka Bob, in this case) -- forfeited to the Crown shall be disposed of in accordance with the direction of the minister."

So Minister David Ramsay could decide not to destroy Bob and that is what the petition is really aiming at. But this clause hasn't been used in at least 25 years now, and without pressure it is unlikely that the Minister would personally intervene.

Funnily enough, had Ken simply given Bob away as a gift with no money exchanged, then everything would have been legal. And no, he can't simply sell it to another province, because it is illegal to sell to anyone unless you have a special license.

Unless the US has some laws against the importation of Moose heads, then I assume that they could be brought along as a personal possession when moving to the US.

I urge everyone to "sign" the petition. :)

Any more questions? :D

Actually yes.

If a plane took off from Newark at 8:00AM EDT carrying 62 passengers heading due west and another plane was leaving Denver heading directly NorthEast at 7:12AM CDT carrying 114 passengers and there was a NW wind at a constant 4mph along both flight paths, would color hat would the captain of the second plane be wearing?

LOL..... cute. Commercial pilots don't wear hats in the cockpit. :p

Right! and here I thought I would have caught you on that one.

I've never sold a moose head, but I have drank a couple in my time. :) :)

Update
 

Have you signed yet? :confused: (click for petition) :D


April 6, 2006

3,000 sign for Bob
Petition to let loose the moose is gaining momentum
By BRIAN GRAY, TORONTO SUN

The people have spoken and the message is clear: Free Bob.

Thousands of Toronto Sun readers have signed our online petition to spring Bob the stuffed moose head from the provincial natural resources ministry's klink.

Bob's been incarcerated since he was apprehended in transit at the Buffalo border after his owner, Ken Procyk, had agreed to sell him to an American buyer.

Unfortunately for Bob, Procyk wasn't aware of the section of the Fishing and Wildlife Conservation Act that prohibits the sale of wildlife without a licence.

Among those supporting Bob and moose everywhere is the Loyal Order of Moose.

For more than 100 years the humanitarian organization has been founded on the noble characteristics of Bob and his buddies.

Bud Nugent is one of the highest ranking members of the Moose Lodge in Etobicoke and he points out an impressive list of charity work done by the service club in the name of that majestic beast.

The Moose International website says: "(The moose) is a fierce protector, a loyal companion, and a generous provider who brings comfort and security to those within his defending circle."

C'MON DAVE

Natural resources minister David Ramsay now has the power to demonstrate some of that same generosity. He can direct the officers to give Bob back to Procyk.

Bob would do it for him.

Procyk is scheduled to tell Bob's story on CTV's Canada AM this morning and he will do so knowing that about 3,000 people have put their name behind Bob in a petition to Ramsay to have the moose on the loose.

Holly Rivers from Hamilton wrote that she normally supports Ontario's conservation officers but there is a limit.

"The money and time spent persecuting (Procyk) and those like him would be FAR better used to continue to deal with the real offenders and issues. It's also unfortunate this sort of nonsense obscures the good work that the authorities actually do. Oh, and ... Give Bob Back!"

I just did. :)

Free Bob !!!!