A British Columbia man was fined several thousand dollars Wednesday after pleading guilty to several charges of trafficking bear parts in Port Coquitlam provincial court.

Hong Tao Yang, 52, of Abbotsford, pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in bear paws and one count of trafficking in bear parts.

He was fined $8,625.

According to the Crown, in August 2022, the BC Conservation Service (COS) was informed by a member of the public that an employee at a recycling facility in Maple Ridge had asked him if he had black bear paws on sell.

The employee was later identified as Yang, the court heard.

Between August and October 2022, an undercover COS agent, posing as a hunter, visited the recycling center, establishing a relationship with Yang.

The court heard that on three occasions the undercover agent sold bear parts to Yang, each time informing him that it was illegal.

The Crown admitted there was no evidence to suggest Yang had resold the coins and agreed the minimum fine for each charge was appropriate.

Provincial court Judge Nicholas Preovolos accepted the defense argument that Yang was using the parts for traditional Chinese medicine purposes.

Outside the courthouse, Conservation Officer Jordan Ferguson told reporters the COS hopes this will deter others from committing these types of offenses.

“It is illegal to be in possession of these coins, even if only for personal use,” he said. “When you create a market just by buying these items, it can kind of escalate, and more people start doing it, and then we have problems with animal populations.”

He says it’s essential that people who hear or see suspicious activity contact the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline.

“We rely heavily on the public. There are only a limited number of conservation officers in the province,” Ferguson said.

Yang was given 18 months to pay the fine.