BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A top Idaho wildlife official has resigned amid outrage over a photo of him posing with a baboon family he killed during a hunting trip Africa, ending days of turmoil for a state where big game hunting is popular but critics said the photo was seen as unsportsmanlike by hunting enthusiasts. Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter said in a statement that he asked for and accepted Blake Fischer's resignation on Monday, three days after the Idaho Statesman newspaper published the first report about a photo of Fischer smiling with four dead baboons propped in front of him. The photo and others of Fischer and his wife shooting at least 14 animals in Namibia were accompanied by descriptions in an email that Fischer sent to more than 100 recipients. Fischer has said he did nothing illegal, unethical or immoral. He didn't apologize for killing the baboons but said in his resignation to Otter that he "recently made some poor judgments that resulted in sharing photos of a hunt in which I did not display an appropriate level of sportsmanship and respect for the animals I harvested." The baboon family photo showed blood visible on the abdomen of the smallest baboon, its head lolling back to rest on the chest of one of the dead adult baboons. Fischer killed them using a bow and arrows, visible in the bottom of the picture. It drew condemnation from longtime Idaho hunters, including Otter, who is 76 and said Tuesday that he has "hunted and fished all my life." "I would never have done that, and I would never encourage anybody to do that," Otter told The Associated Press in an interview. The photo of Fischer with the dead baboons hurts Idaho's reputation as a hunting and fishing paradise, Otter said. "I think it's tainted," he said. "Fortunately, he has resigned. We'd like to get this behind us because this is not us." Fischer was one of seven members on the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. Otter appoints commissioners and under Idaho law can also remove them. Otter initially appointed Fischer in 2014 and reappointed him in June to a second four-year-term. Story continues "I have high expectations and standards for every appointee in state government," Otter said. "Every member of my administration is expected to exercise good judgment. Commissioner Fischer did not." Fischer and his wife during their Africa trip also killed a giraffe, a leopard, an impala, a sable antelope, a waterbuck, a kudu, a warthog, a gemsbok (oryx) and an eland. Fischer has a business in southwestern Idaho that sells irrigation products used by ranchers and farmers. He did not return a telephone message seeking comment that was left at his business on Tuesday. Most of the photos with the animals were posed, like typical big game hunting photos from Idaho and other western U.S. states showing hunters with dead deer, elk and mountain lions. After the baboon photo was made public, at least two former Idaho Fish and Game Commission members to call for Fischer's resignation. "Sportsmanlike behavior is the center pin to maintaining hunting as a socially acceptable activity," former member Fred Trevey said in an email. The commission Fischer served on makes policy decisions about Idaho's wildlife, and it often manages game populations through hunting and fishing regulations. Those regulations are intended promote ethical wildlife hunting. Some of Idaho's policies, such as on wolf and grizzly bear hunting, have been challenged in federal courts. Otter said he has received several applications to fill the open commission seat but had no timeline for naming a new commissioner.<doc-sep>A wildlife official is facing calls to resign after he shared photographs of him posing with dead animals on a hunting trip in southern Africa and boasting about how he killed a "whole family of baboons." Blake Fischer, Idaho Fish and Game commissioner, emailed friends and colleagues photos of him stood next to more than a dozen animals, including a giraffe, leopard and a sable antelope. He had taken the photos during a hunting trip with his wife in Namibia, reports the Idaho Statesman. More than 100 people were reportedly sent the email, with each photograph containing a caption detailing each kill, reports the Huffington Post. It was the photograph of Fischer posing with four bloodstained baboons, which he killed with a bow, that has caused the most outrage. Fischer reportedly joked in the email how he wanted his wife to "get a feel of Africa" during her first trip to the continent. "So I shot a whole family of baboons. I think she got the idea quick," he added. Fred Trevey, who was Fish and Game commissioner from 2007 to 2015, said the photo "dismays and disappoints" him. He said Fischer should consider resigning in order to "shield the commission as an institution and hunting as a legitimate tool of wildlife management from the harm that is sure to come." "I'm sure what you did was legal, however, legal does not make it right," Trevey added in an email obtained by the Idaho Statesman through a public records request. "Sportsmanlike behavior is the center pin to maintaining hunting as a socially acceptable activity." Fischer's actions were also condemned by former Idaho commissioner Keith Stonebraker. "They killed a whole family, including small baboons, and I think that's revolting," he told the Idaho Statesman. "It just puts a bad light on us." Steve Alder, of pro-hunting group Idaho for Wildlife, also said Fischer broke the state's code of conduct for hunting animals by taking photographs of the kill. "It's everything we preach against in hunters' education," Alder said. "It just sends the wrong signal. "The biggest thing is the baboon thing. I was really troubled," Alder added. "He killed the whole baboon family and you've got little junior laying there in mom's lap. You just don't do that." Comedian and actor Ricky Gervais also tweeted a photo of Fischer posing with the baboons to his 13 million followers along with the caption "Pathetic c*** #BanTrophyHunting." Fischer, who has been on the commission for four years, apologized for sending the photographs—but not for going on the hunting trip. "I didn't do anything illegal. I didn't do anything unethical. I didn't do anything immoral," Fischer said. "I look at the way Idaho's Fish and Game statute says we're supposed to manage all animals for Idaho, and any surplus of animals we have we manage through hunting, fishing and trapping. Africa [sic]does the same thing." Fischer said he was also required to pay a trophy fee for permission to hunt the animals, except for the baboons—which were free because they are a "weird animal." More than 15,000 animals are hunted each year in Namibia, raising millions for conservation, reports The Times of London. In July, the government urged tourist hunters to stop posting photographs of their kills onto social media, fearing it was damaging the reputation of the country.<doc-sep>
Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner Blake Fischer resigned Monday after bragging about killing a family of baboons and other animals during a hunting trip to Africa.In the middle of September, Fischer sent an email to more than 100 friends and colleagues recapping his recent hunting trip to Namibia. "I have high expectations and standards for every appointee in state government," said Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter in a statement announcing Fischer's resignation. "Every member of my administration is expected to exercise good judgment. Commissioner Fischer did not. Accordingly, I have accepted his resignation from the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. "Along with the email, obtained by CNN, Fischer attached 12 pictures of himself and his wife standing over various kills: an oryx, a giraffe, a waterbuck, a leopard and, perhaps most notably, a group of four dead baboons.He boasted about using the baboon kills to introduce his wife to African game hunting. "First day she wanted to watch me, and 'get a feel' of Africa," he wrote in the e-mail. "So I shot a whole family of baboons. I think she got the idea quick." One of the animals in the photo appears to be a young baboon, bloodied and propped up on a larger one. "After we left all of the animals in Africa that were still alive we (sic) pretty happy we were on a plane headed home!" the email concluded.The photos and the tone of the email left some of Fischer's colleagues unsettled, and some past commissioners of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game asked that Fischer step down. "My reaction to the photo and accompanying text of you smiling and holding a 'family' of primates you killed, dismays and disappoints me," former Commissioner Fred Trevey wrote Fischer in an email. "I have a difficult time understanding how a person privileged to be an Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner can view such an action as sportsmanlike and an example to others. "Trevey said the baboon photo, and the accompanying caption, violated commonly held hunting ethics by describing the nature of the kill in a lurid way, and suggested the photos could tarnish the reputation of the IDFG and the hunting community at large. "For the good of all, I encourage you to shield the Commission as an institution and hunting as a legitimate tool of wildlife management from the harm that is sure to come," Trevey wrote. "My belief is you should take responsibility and resign, sooner rather than later. "In a subsequent email to Gov. Butch Otter's assistant, Tony McDermott claimed at least seven ex-commissioners, including himself, shared Trevey's concerns and the belief that Fischer used "extremely poor judgment. "The message, along with the names of the commissioners who supported the call for Fischer's resignation, eventually reached Otter's attention. "I can tell you that the Governor is concerned and that this office is actively looking into the matter," Otter's Press Secretary Jon Hanian told CNN.The seven members of the commission are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate to serve staggered four-year terms.Recent social media posts by the IDFG, unrelated to Fischer or his position, have received messages calling for Fischer's resignation. CNN has reached out to the IDFG for comment, though, as commissioner, Fischer was technically not an employee of the division.CNN has reached out to Fischer for comment and has yet to get a response. He told the Idaho Statesman that he "didn't do anything illegal. ""I didn't do anything unethical. I didn't do anything immoral," he added.