80 bear paws found dumped in gruesome discovery in British Columbia

A North Okanagan hunter was horrified to find nearly 100 bear paws left behind on a road over the weekend.

Those bear paws would belong to more than two dozen bears, according to the hunter, who made the discovery and did not want to be named.

“That’s 20 or 30 bears,” she told the CBC. “Whoever did this should be caught and held accountable.” 

Video sent to CBC and posted on social media shows the gruesome scene on Estate Drive near rural Anglemont, B.C. 

The experienced hunter said the paws appear to be from adults and cubs. She said they had been declawed and handled in a manner that suggests inexperience.

“This is nothing hunters or a taxidermist would do,” she said. “It was a chop job.”

The hunter said said she contacted Chase RCMP and the B.C. Conservation Officer Service. She said she heard back on Monday afternoon that conservation officers from Kamloops were at the scene and investigating.

CBC has contacted the service and the RCMP but has not heard back.

In B.C., both the sale and possession of bear parts — including paws, gall bladders and genitals — is illegal. 

Bear parts are trafficked on the black market and can sell for thousands of dollars abroad for their alleged medicinal properties.

According to the witness, it appeared as if the paws had been dumped out of a vehicle.

About the author

Peg Fong is also in recovery from newspapers

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.