A black bear is seen in this undated WildSafeBC photo.

(HOWARD ALEXANDER - NEWS EDITOR / iNFOnews.ca)

A couple hiking near Cypress Bowl Road in West Vancouver last month came across the discarded carcass of a black bear with its guts removed, and now animal rights groups are offering a reward to help solve the case.

Christine Miller, executive director of the North Shore Black Bear Society said it was no accident and likely not a legal kill by an ethical hunter.

“Alongside the carcass (were) some empty ice bags and three bags of disposable gloves which shows you that it was done by people,” Miller says. "It wasn’t an accidental death."

The carcass was discovered July 5 but Miller says she is just now sharing news of the incident because the investigation has wrapped up and she is free to speak on it. The Vancouver-based non-profit the Fur-Bearers has offered a $1,000 award for more information about who did it.

Miller says this is quite an unusual discovery, but expects there’s plenty more poaching incidents that go unnoticed.

“It's very unusual, we’ve only found it once before but I would be naive to think these are the only cases,” Miller says. “I think it happens more than we’d like to know of it.”

Miller suspects the poachers may have harvested the organs for medicinal purposes.

“They're used for some kind of Asian traditional medicinal products and it's a very lucrative business, they get paid a lot of money for the organs,” Miller says.

Miller reminds people to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, in hopes that any poaching may be stopped. If you see any poaching happening or have a tip, make a report to the Report All Poachers and Polluters line at 1-877-952-7277 or make a report online.

If you know anything about this specific incident, reach out to the Fur-Bearers online.

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