Poaching of bears for gallbladders in California

[Guest guest]

This is rather disturbing...and it happens more often around North America

than many may realize.

 

 

-- In 2007, Huong Tovan, 54, of San Diego was arrested by Redding undercover

agents and charged with soliciting the killing of bears in Shasta County so

he could buy their gallbladders. A gallbladder-processing operation was

discovered when wardens arrested Tovan, who had a passport and tickets to

fly to Southeast Asia, Foley said. Bear gallbladders are used for medicinal

purposes in Southeast Asia and can fetch $2,000 an ounce.

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2009%2F06%2F09%2FMN9C180V\

4D.DTL

 

Thomas

 

 

Beijing, China

Author of " Western Herbs According to Traditional : A

Practitioners Guide "

Check out my blog: sourcepointherbs.blogspot.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

First, I think poaching is despicable. But, this is a problem that has

always puzzled me. Why? Because hunting black bears in California is legal.

In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Fish and Game basically declares an open

season, and when they receive tags on about five thousand black bears, or

whatever number they have chosen to keep the population under control, they

end it. If the powers that be would allow buyers (herbalists?) and sellers

(hunters) to interact, I would think there wouldn't be the incentive to

poach. Just my two cents.

 

 

 

Bart Paulding, LAc

 

 

 

 

On Behalf Of

Tuesday, June 09, 2009 4:33 PM

 

Poaching of bears for gallbladders in California

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is rather disturbing...and it happens more often around North America

than many may realize.

 

-- In 2007, Huong Tovan, 54, of San Diego was arrested by Redding undercover

agents and charged with soliciting the killing of bears in Shasta County so

he could buy their gallbladders. A gallbladder-processing operation was

discovered when wardens arrested Tovan, who had a passport and tickets to

fly to Southeast Asia, Foley said. Bear gallbladders are used for medicinal

purposes in Southeast Asia and can fetch $2,000 an ounce.

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2009%2F06%2F09%2FMN9C

180V4D.DTL

 

Thomas

 

 

Beijing, China

Author of " Western Herbs According to Traditional : A

Practitioners Guide "

Check out my blog: sourcepointherbs.blogspot.com

 

 

[Guest guest]

I don't think it's " open season " per se. In WI, you have to get a permit

first, and there's a waiting list of some years. Or at least there used to

be. Black Bears are much more common nowadays.

I've heard it said that there was some distrust among the criminal

underworld, so what people started to do is they would lure the bears into

cages, shoot them and just ship the whole dead bear. That way, the people

on the other end would know that the gall bladder really did come from a

bear.

Wildlife trafficking is a very unseemly and dark business, intertwined with

drugs, arms, money laundering and even worse activities.

 

 

 

-

" GBP " <gbp3

 

Tuesday, June 09, 2009 5:19 PM

RE: Poaching of bears for gallbladders in California

 

 

> First, I think poaching is despicable. But, this is a problem that has

> always puzzled me. Why? Because hunting black bears in California is

> legal.

> In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Fish and Game basically declares an open

> season, and when they receive tags on about five thousand black bears, or

> whatever number they have chosen to keep the population under control,

> they

> end it. If the powers that be would allow buyers (herbalists?) and

> sellers

> (hunters) to interact, I would think there wouldn't be the incentive to

> poach. Just my two cents.

>

>

>

> Bart Paulding, LAc

>

>

[Guest guest]

Bart is correct that there is a season for black bears in California and that

once 1700 tags have been presented to Fish and Game the season closes. It is

likely that this individual who was arrested for poaching was hunting outside of

a designated season or State or National Forest area.

 

My cousin lived in the Feather River area of the Sierra Nevada and had a chance

to go out with some seasoned bear hunters who would actually process all of the

meat and they also had connections to brokers who would claim their bear's G.B.

While I think everyone here would agree that this is a more ethical practice,

that of using the complete animal, the other issue to look at is that of race.

While I don't condone the act, it is hard for me to not detect some racism in a

single act of this to make a newswire in No. California. I also suspect that the

attention is as geared towards deterring organized crime as it is to deter

poaching.

 

Perhaps someone could develop a brokerage for more ethically harvested G.B's,

that is those harvested while the whole animal is utilized. Too bad bear doesn't

taste very good.

 

Ben

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_______________

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync.

http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009

 

 

[Guest guest]

Ben,

What does bear meat taste like?

 

K

 

 

On Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 9:52 AM, ben zappin <btz23 wrote:

 

>

> Bart is correct that there is a season for black bears in California and

> that once 1700 tags have been presented to Fish and Game the season closes.

> It is likely that this individual who was arrested for poaching was hunting

> outside of a designated season or State or National Forest area.

>

> My cousin lived in the Feather River area of the Sierra Nevada and had a

> chance to go out with some seasoned bear hunters who would actually process

> all of the meat and they also had connections to brokers who would claim

> their bear's G.B. While I think everyone here would agree that this is a

> more ethical practice, that of using the complete animal, the other issue to

> look at is that of race. While I don't condone the act, it is hard for me to

> not detect some racism in a single act of this to make a newswire in No.

> California. I also suspect that the attention is as geared towards deterring

> organized crime as it is to deter poaching.

>

> Perhaps someone could develop a brokerage for more ethically harvested

> G.B's, that is those harvested while the whole animal is utilized. Too bad

> bear doesn't taste very good.

>

> Ben

>

>

>

>

>

_______________

> Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync.

> http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009

>

>

[Guest guest]

Greetings,

I live in Shasta County, and have some experience with the backwoods, and local

indigenous people who still hunt and eat bear in quite an ecological manner. In

terms of the taste of bear: If prepared well, or in a traditional manner, I

would say it is 'different' in comparison to factory raised corn fed beef. A key

difference is the energetics of a wild animal, living free, in balance on earth.

I can feel the energy charge from a meal of wild game. If the general population

realized this fact, I fear the bear would become extinct. The idea of hunters as

population control is a poor idea. If it was a natural predator it would cull

the population taking the sick and elderly increasing the health of the species.

I have encountered bear hunters with their spotter aircraft and packs of dogs

outfitted with radio collars. To shoot a treed bear in the ass with high powered

rifles is not my idea of manhood. I question of charge of racism in regards to

the Asians. Because the value of gallbladders is an Asian phenomenon, they would

have the family contacts to sell. They would have an easier connection to the

underworld than a white hunter, who may be an undercover agent. Lots of dead

bears are discovered with missing gallbladders.

 

Ron Holmes

 

 

, ben zappin <btz23 wrote:

>

>

> Bart is correct that there is a season for black bears in California and that

once 1700 tags have been presented to Fish and Game the season closes. It is

likely that this individual who was arrested for poaching was hunting outside of

a designated season or State or National Forest area.

>

> My cousin lived in the Feather River area of the Sierra Nevada and had a

chance to go out with some seasoned bear hunters who would actually process all

of the meat and they also had connections to brokers who would claim their

bear's G.B. While I think everyone here would agree that this is a more ethical

practice, that of using the complete animal, the other issue to look at is that

of race. While I don't condone the act, it is hard for me to not detect some

racism in a single act of this to make a newswire in No. California. I also

suspect that the attention is as geared towards deterring organized crime as it

is to deter poaching.

>

> Perhaps someone could develop a brokerage for more ethically harvested G.B's,

that is those harvested while the whole animal is utilized. Too bad bear doesn't

taste very good.

>

> Ben

>

>

>

>

>

_______________

> Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync.

> http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009

>

>

[Guest guest]

I agree with Ben, if there was a network connecting the hunters and the

medicine makers it would cut down on this sort of tragedy. I also agree that

bear simply doesn't taste all that great and many hunters I know don't

bother because many people don't like to eat it.....Ben you are probably

right about the racism you detected in the article.

 

Also, while the bear population may be on the rise, the current state of

bears in the lower 48 is but an anemic shadow of what it was less than 100

years ago (or even 50 year ago for that matter). There were grizzy bears in

the mountains of Santa Cruz (just south of San Francisco) until the early

1900's.

 

Thomas

 

 

Beijing, China

Author of " Western Herbs According to Traditional : A

Practitioners Guide "

Check out my blog: sourcepointherbs.blogspot.com