The skins of bears, who had been illegally killed on the banks of the Amchigacha river, as well as a registered hunting gun, were confiscated during a search of his house. All three poachers were taken to a detention center. Criminal proceedings have been instituted against them, with the district prosecutor's office investigating their case.
Dozens of Kamchatka brown bears, many of who are even bigger than those huge US grizzly bears, are being killed by poachers each year. The skin of every Kamchatka brown bear costs $500-1,000 on the black market; moreover a gram of bear bile costs $6-10.
About 11,000 bears now roam the Kamchatka Peninsula. According to police-department officers, these rare animals are often killed by wire nooses being placed by fishermen along the banks of fish-spawning rivers in order to protect themselves from bears, who feed on salmon.
