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UBCIC calls severed bear paws found near Shuswap Lake ‘a complete lack of respect for wildlife’

May 26, 2021 | 12:38 PM

ANGLEMONT, B.C. — Appalled and horrified.

That’s how the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) reacted to 80 to 100 severed bear paws – approximately 20 to 25 bears in total – being discovered in the Anglemont Mountain area near Shuswap Lake.

“The carnage left behind indicates the actions of trophy or commercial poachers who hold a complete lack of respect for wildlife, hunting laws, and the rights of other resource users,” UBCIC stated. “UBCIC has previously expressed alarm at ‘wolf-whacking’ and ‘predator tournaments’ occurring in the province that allow the gratuitous and ruthless slaughter of wildlife. The dozens of discarded bear paws demonstrate that this callous attitude towards the killing of animals persists.”

Trophy hunting and poaching goes against Indigenous hunting practices, and UBCIC urges hunters to hunt, fish, and trap sustainably and ethically, and never for unwarranted bloodshed and glorification of violence.

Locally, the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council (SNTC) Council of Chiefs will hold a ceremony to honour the bears who were discarded.

SNTC’s traditional stories said the bear is a sacred animal forming the foundation of their creation law, the chief of the four-legged and deserves the utmost respect and dignity. SNTC condemned the dishonour shown to the bears.

Anyone who has information on who disposed of the animal parts to call the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-RAPP (7277).

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