A B.C. wildlife group is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction relating to a bear that was killed, dumped in a gravel pit in Tappen and then burned.
Non-profit advocacy organization The Fur-Bearers announced the reward after it was reported the B.C. Conservation Officer Service was investigating the animal’s death.
“It is disturbing that someone is out there believing they can treat wildlife in this way,” said The Fur-Bearers executive director Lesley Fox in a media release. “We are hopeful that the reward may provide incentive for individuals with knowledge of what occurred to come forward and assist the Conservation Officer Service in their investigation.”
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Conservation Officer Mike Richardson told the Observer they had been looking for leads on the dead black bear since mid-April. He explained the bear had been shot but left whole, which is in violation of the law that requires hunters to remove all edible portions of the animal.
At the end of April, Richardson said the Conservation Officer Service again received calls about the bear, after someone had dragged it onto a fire pit and burned the weeks-old carcass.
Fox urged anyone with information about the dead bear to contact the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 877-952-7277.
Information on coexisting with wildlife, including bears, can be found at www.TheFurBearers.com.
-With files by Jim Elliot/Salmon Arm Observer