The following is a news release from Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter.

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced Monday that he asked for – and has received – the resignation of Blake Fischer as an Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commissioner. Fisher came under intense criticism for graphic photos taken during an African hunting trip he participated in last month.

“I have high expectations and standards for every appointee in state government,” said Governor Otter. “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.”

Under the provisions of Idaho Code section 36-102 Commissioners serve at “the pleasure of the governor and are subject to removal by him.” Fischer’s resignation letter was submitted via e-mail to the Governor’s Office late this afternoon. The Governor accepted his resignation upon receipt.

Fischer was originally appointed to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in July of 2014 and was reappointed in June of 2018. Fisher’s resignation is effective immediately and the search for his replacement begins immediately. Idaho residents interested in applying should go to gov.idaho.gov and fill out the application for appointment.

This morning during the Weekday Wake-up, Duke & Dahl asked listeners if they supported or did not support the pressured resignation of the commissioner.  Here are their responses.

“If it was the baboons and some of those countries they all looked at the same as raccoons rodents or feral pigs in this country and they do a lot of damage maybe we need to study more to learn what we are talking about.”

“The overall safari isn’t what got him in trouble it was the pose with the dead family of baboons. As a game commissioner he should have been more aware of the scrutiny his acts would bring upon the Idaho fish and game and on hunting in general.”

“So if he shot a moose elk deer antelope and bear we would be ok with that. When you go on a safari hunt it’s so expensive you hunt as much as you can. And I thought game and fish was all about managing wildlife. That’s no different than what we do here. Good for him.”

“It is unconscionable for the governor to request his resignation! He did not use good judgment sharing the information, but he should not lose his job over it.  I believe his colleague, the one who went public with this information should have his s*#^ laid bare and see if he maybe ought to resign as well.”

“It is ok. He just should of not put it on social media.”

“No he shouldn’t of resigned if is wasn’t legal he wouldn’t have paid a fortune to go to Africa to hunt also it is a management thing.”

“Let the Democratic Party figure it out- they know how to witch hunt. oops! Did I say that?”

“Let the man have his baboons and other animals…it was legal and he had fun…people are too soft these days.”

“I’m sure he was entirely licensed for what he killed. A harvest is necessary to maintain the population of all species & if not harvested thru hunting , animals may starve to death for lack of habitat. Perhaps in his position he may have BRAGGED a little too much , but I’m no his side . I’m a hunter & have many hunters in my family.”

“I think this is ethical and just fine. This man more than anyone would not go into a once in a lifetime hunt like this lightly. Shame on Idaho.”

“It was sad looking at the family of baboons as trophy animals. A problem with the”court of public opinion ” is that it was not long ago that a young hunter came under scrutiny for her picture with a giraffe. This hunter took, what looked like, a huge giraffe. Nothing was said about that photo. These photos need to be in a hunting magazine.”

“With the small amount of information that I have, I personally find it frustrating that he was asked to resign. The culture, animals, laws, licensing, etc differ so much from here. My understanding is that the locals use all the meat. Very little of the animal goes to waste. There’s also the management aspect that we know very little about. Some states in the US allow many and even sometimes unlimited white tale deer licenses because they need to manage the numbers. We don’t know what there Management looks like over there and what animals are causing problems, or are over or under populated. I guess just get annoyed when people jump all over someone’s choices because they aren’t in line with there own. And in reality, we have very little information about the nature of his hunt and the details of he situation.”

“I’m pro hunter, but this situation does seem distasteful especially considering the man’s position.  The whole hunting trip and the sheer number of animals harvested comes off as extreme.”

“I say no. Why would he resign. By the way a friend of mine was able to harvest a giraffe a few years back and has said that it was the best meat he’s ever had.”

“It’s hard to judge what is okay in other countries that may seem distasteful to us. Not saying I agree but you may need to look at it through a different lens.”

“After watching a documentary on how bad the baboon crisis is in South Africa, I think it’s perfectly ethical to kill violent primates that attack people and kill pets.”