Image Credit: B.C. Conservation Officer Service

By James Peters

Bear Poaching

Passerby finds dead bear cub with severed paws near Roche Lake

Sep 9, 2022 | 3:45 PM

WARNING: This story contains potentially disturbing descriptions and a graphic photo. Reader discretion is advised.

KAMLOOPS — A Roche Lake-area resident has reported a horrifying discovery to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, was on his bike Thursday morning (Sept. 8) when he came across the body of a bear at the roadside on Roche Lake Road, southeast of Kamloops.

“It was very emotional for me,” the man told CFJC Today. “I noticed the bear on the side of the road as I was going along and there were some carrion (scavenger) birds there. I recognized that it was a bear but as I was going by, I turned and saw that the paws had been sawed off of it. At that point, I stopped my bike and just stood there looking at it and couldn’t understand what I was seeing — why someone would have done that.”

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The man called the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, who quickly launched an investigation.

“They were very responsive,” said the man. “Within a couple of hours, someone had contacted me back. He was on his way out to the location and just wanted to double-check how far up the road he should be looking.”

CFJC Today left a message for the B.C. Conservation Officer Service seeking comment but has yet to get a response.

“I hope that, by bringing attention to it, more people will be on the lookout for anyone doing something like that,” said the man. “Hopefully we can stop those kind of things from happening in the future.”

In May 2021, as many as 100 severed bear paws were found in the Anglemont area of the North Shuswap.

According to PoachingFacts.com, bear paws are considered a traditional delicacy in some European and Asian cultures and fetch well over $50 per kilogram.