Blackbear

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FROM: THE MONTREAL GAZETTE NEWSPAPER WEBSITE

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montr...d=e691ead5-9b4
3-455e-9476-1cda1a9dfd31

Cops Wrap Up Hunt For Poachers


CP


Thursday, February 03, 2005


Quebec and federal officials are nearing the end of a crackdown on a national
bear organ trafficking network that included about 60 hunters, animal part
dealers and smugglers.

The convictions and nearly $300,000 in fines hit dozens of Quebec poachers
and dealers in Quebec City, Toronto and Calgary who bought and sold bear claws,
paws and gallbladders.

"Unfortunately, through all this work we've only put a dent in it," said
Jean-Pierre Caron, a Quebec animal protection officer.

He said poachers are using night-vision goggles and motion detectors to alert
them to approaching conservation officers.

While many of the Quebec cases included charges for poaching deer, moose and
caribou, dozens of hunters were caught with bear parts.

The organs are sold in Canadian cities with large Asian populations or
smuggled to the Far East. The gallbladder and bile are turned into medicine that
purportedly boosts the immune system.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005

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