(Ministry of Environment)

By Nigel Maxwell

Illegal hunting

Sask. woman who was trafficking black bear paws, fined over $12,000

Dec 23, 2025 | 11:29 AM

A woman from Maidstone and a family member have been fined over $21,000 for illegal hunting activities related to the trafficking of black bear paws and gall bladders.

Appearing at Lloydminster Provincial Court, Weol Ran Lee pleaded guilty to trafficking in wildlife. She received a $7,000 fine and a five-year hunting suspension.

Lee also pleaded guilty to unlawfully transporting wildlife parts between provinces after purchasing bear paws illegally in Saskatchewan and taking them into Alberta.

For this offence, she was fined $5,000, prohibited from possessing bear parts for five years, and had any money seized in connection with the offence forfeited.

In March 2022, the General Investigations Section of the Ministry of Community Safety (previously called Corrections, Policing and Public Safety) received information regarding suspected trafficking of bear gall bladders. Conservation officers began their investigation in Maidstone, SK and later expanded the investigation into British Columbia, where a second suspect was identified.

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Last August, the second suspect and family member of Lee pleaded guilty in British Columbia, to unlawful possession and wildlife trafficking involving bear parts and was fined $9,875.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell