The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is investigation after dozens of bear paws were found along a forest service road in the Shuswap.

Image Credit: TWITTER/B.C. Conservation Officer Service

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is investigating after severed bear paws were found scattered next to a forest road near Anglemont on the north side of Shuswap Lake.

Hunter Brandi Hansen was travelling the area with her family when found dozens of the severed paws near a culvert on Forest Service Road 695. She posted video of the bear paws to Facebook, and called the conservation service and RCMP.

At first she was shocked, but that was quickly followed by disappointment.

Hansen said that both adult and cub paws were in the ditch and many had been declawed with the hides and fur still remaining.

"I come from a family of hunters and I have been hunting since I was a child, yet never have I witnessed anything to this caliber," Hansen said in Facebook post.

Hansen used the paws as an educational moment for her five kids. 

"The kids took it pretty well," she said in an interview with iNFOnews.ca. "We explained that somebody did something real bad and we had to report them. No parent should have to have that conversation."

Then she posted the video to social media as a way to bring information to the public, hoping that someone could have information to share with conservation officers.

"I was really apprehensive of posting it, but the only way (conservation officers) find who did this is by putting it out there," she said. "One thing the non-hunting and hunting community has in common is that we are unified to stop poaching."

While it first appeared to Hansen the remains might have been left by a taxidermist, the presence of cub paws, skulls and the irresponsible dumping in a waterway lead her to believe it was a poaching incident. 

Conservation officer service said in a tweet it had collected the paws, and other animal parts, as evidence in the ongoing investigation.

The conservation officer service is asking anyone with information that may help identify the person or persons who disposed of the paws to contact their them at 1-877-952-7277.

— This story was updated at 4:07 p.m., May 25, 2021, to add more comment from Brandi Hansen.

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