Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Burnaby Woman Fined $5,200 For Illegally Buying Bear Gallbladders

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 May, 2016 11:08 AM
    VANCOUVER — A Burnaby, B.C., woman has been fined $5,200 after illegally buying bear gallbladders in an attempt to treat her severely-ill son's seizures.
     
    Yon Kim was sentenced on Tuesday for two counts of trafficking in bear gallbladders under the B.C. Wildlife Act in Port Coquitlam provincial court.
     
    Det. Sgt. Darcy MacPhee of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said Kim held a traditional belief that the bile contained in the gallbladders would help her adult son's condition.
     
    "He suffered pretty much constant seizures. He sounded like a very ill young man," MacPhee said in an interview. "After she had treated her son with it, it had no effect. It did not help him."
     
    He said Kim was charged following a six-month investigation that began in October 2014. She pleaded guilty to the two charges in February.
     
    MacPhee said the service began investigating Kim after she called a bear hunters' association in Wyoming looking for bear gallbladders. The association alerted state authorities, who contacted officers in B.C. after learning she lived in the province.
     
    He said the Conservation Officer Service launched an undercover operation in which officers met with Kim and another woman, Yunhee "Sarah" Kim, before ultimately selling them black bear parts in Merritt. The two women are not related.
     
    Yon Kim also purchased gallbladders on another occasion in Coquitlam, MacPhee said.
     
    Sarah Kim, an acupuncturist, was fined $22,400 in March after pleading guilty to seven charges related to trafficking in bear gallbladders and paws, as well as deer meat.
     
    MacPhee said one reason that Sarah Kim's fine was higher was because she prescribed bear bile to clients, while Yon Kim used the bile only in an effort to treat her severely-ill adult son.
     
    He said conservation officers are extremely concerned about people buying wildlife parts for any reason and it can have a severe impact over time on animal populations.
     
    MacPhee added that cases involving bear gallbladders are not rare.
     
    "We're pretty concerned. It definitely isn't a once-in-a-while thing. It is a problem."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Western Premiers To Meet In Vancouver, Alberta's Rachel Notley Absent Due To Forest Fires

    Western Premiers To Meet In Vancouver, Alberta's Rachel Notley Absent Due To Forest Fires
    Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has bowed out of the 2016 Western Premiers' Conference and will be replaced by her deputy premier Sarah Hoffman, who also serves as health minister.

    Western Premiers To Meet In Vancouver, Alberta's Rachel Notley Absent Due To Forest Fires

    Leaving Fort Mcmurray: Stories From The Wildfire Evacuees

    Leaving Fort Mcmurray: Stories From The Wildfire Evacuees
    Tens of thousands of people have fled the wildfire that has ravaged parts of Fort McMurray, Alta. Here are some of their stories:

    Leaving Fort Mcmurray: Stories From The Wildfire Evacuees

    Montreal Woman On Honeymoon Named 20 Millionth Visitor To Graceland

    Montreal Woman On Honeymoon Named 20 Millionth Visitor To Graceland
    Tiffany Greenoak, who grew up in Canada but now lives in London, England, was named the 20 millionth visitor Tuesday to Graceland, which now operates as a museum.

    Montreal Woman On Honeymoon Named 20 Millionth Visitor To Graceland

    American Man Who Wanted Sex With Canadian Girl, 13, Faces Up To 50 Years Jail

    American Man Who Wanted Sex With Canadian Girl, 13, Faces Up To 50 Years Jail
    Paul Binh Do, 29, was taken into federal custody this week after signing a plea deal involving two charges: travelling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and being in receipt of child pornography

    American Man Who Wanted Sex With Canadian Girl, 13, Faces Up To 50 Years Jail

    South Asian Community Offering Free Rooms, And Gas To Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuees

    South Asian Community Offering Free Rooms, And Gas To Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuees
    Guru Nanak Sikh Society Gurdwara in Edmonton says people in the congregation — and outside of it — are offering rooms in their homes or places to park campers.

    South Asian Community Offering Free Rooms, And Gas To Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuees

    Gangs Suspected As Man Injured In Targeted East Vancouver Shooting

    Gangs Suspected As Man Injured In Targeted East Vancouver Shooting
    A man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds was found in the backyard of home.

    Gangs Suspected As Man Injured In Targeted East Vancouver Shooting