Conservation officers investigating possible bear poaching

WARNING: disturbing images below.

NORTH VANCOUVER – Conservation officers in North Vancouver are investigating after the mutilated carcass of a black bear was discovered last week in Capilano River Regional Park on the North Shore, near the parking lot.  The body was stripped of its claws and skull.

The officers say the the bear, a young male, had been dead for as long as a week when he was found.  He had been shot, but the officers aren’t clear on whether it was by poachers or legitimate hunters. Bear hunting season spans from April 1 to June 15 in B.C., but it is not allowed in North Vancouver.  Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact conservation officers at 1-877-952-7277 or online.