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I don't want to start a fuss and am NOT sure if this is an appropriate subject . BUT WHY is the sale of Legally harvested bear parts such as Galls illegal Is it state or Federal law . I remember about 35+ years ago there was a Federal Sting in Maine for outfitters selling them .I am sure you old timers will remember the incident . Was it the fact that the GOVT was NOT getting a piece of the pie or was there another reason I do recall 2-3 years ago a Hound hunter from Washington State that was doing " Damage Control " had gotten busted for selling bear parts .

As far as our group goes if we put one down we gut it and leave the gut kit intact for yotes ,bobbers and other critters to have at it

Bob ,it is legal to sell gall bladers in Maine, You just need to have the person's name that shot it and his address and hunting license#.

Spruce : Is there a market legal for bear Galls

If so any idea what they are worth

As a private group of buddies we MAY put down 3 maybe 4 per year

Yes, fur dealers buy them. I'm not sure if the guy that I deal with would want me to post his info on here so I will PM you.

It is legal in Idaho to sell galls but there isn't the market like there used to be. I sold a gall to Moscow Hide and Fur for 340$ years ago. They were paying 20$ or 25$ an ounce at the time and it was a MONSTER gall. The bear wasn't all that big. Now I think they pay 10$ or 15$ a gall no matter the size.

its to protect game from poachers .a buddy of mine saw a show where a drug addict was supporting her habit killing bears for just the galls using set guns that sort of crap. she had killed a pile of bears.the honest hunter has to suffer in those states that have the law for the good of the species.

Speaking of drugs, i had seen where, the bear galls, was being used and tested to fight a type of cancer, not sure what ever happened in the study. Here is WI. Galls are illegal, for sale, and at a grand a piece i wouldnt touch them. I pop everyone, before leaving the gut pile. To be sure no one comes behind me or ever be accused of them.

[quote= I do recall 2-3 years ago a Hound hunter from Washington State that was doing " Damage Control " had gotten busted for selling bear parts .

As far as our group goes if we put one down we gut it and leave the gut kit intact for yotes ,bobbers and other critters to have at it[/quote]

Yes this is an ongoing problem in Washington. I have been told if you sell them on the black market to the Orientals they can be worth a small fortune. Apparently a few guys up here thought so as well. It is dumb ass thing to do, Washington has a hard enough time with the anti's, then guys get busted selling galls when our bear hunting is so limited.

It's been shown over and over, where it's legal to sell gall bladders the price is NOTHING, so poaching is NOT a problem, they have plenty of gall bladders, Would you poach a bear for $10? Probably not. However in places it's illegal to sell gall bladders they can fetch hundreds of dollars making it something folks will risk and therefore poaching goes way up. As usual it has the exact opposite effect intended by the do gooders.

I am just guessing but here in Maine I think we have the largest concentration of bears per square mile east of the Mississippi . For those that are LEGALLY TAGGED ,I have no problem with guys making a few $$$ off the galls if they so CHOOSE to do so . I would rater see that than the YOTES eating them

I was always brought up in the manner that if you kill it, you use everything you can. just out of respect more than anything, In Ontario Black bears are considered a fur bearing animal, im a fur harvester (licensed Trapper and i trap for a living doing nuisance wildlife work) i can take beaver, sell the hide, meat, casters, tail etc, I also can trap/hunt and harvest a bear, with NO limit on my trap line or private land that i have a trapping license for that area and permission to hunt as long as its in season, I can sell the hide, i can eat the meat, but heaven forbid i sold a chinamen a gall? messed up but fines are very hefty for shit like that so i would never even consider it, to me it makes no sense, Ontario has more bear human conflict than it ever has, the MNR kills hundreds a year and just leaves them to rot but they are worried if they let a fella make a bit of money to pay for his hunt or even just help a poor old trapper make a livin that everyone is going to be poaching bears. Bull shit its just another political move as there are more Antis in Ontario now than hunters as I am sure is the case in a lot of places, and its a damn shame.

many CO's in BC blaim making the selling of gallbladders illegal the reason for the lack of bear hunterss. Back in the day when the galls could be sold, families would go out harvest afew bears for sausage and sell the galls to pay for their weekend trip. When the new laws came in bear hunting inBC dropped to 30% of what it once was. Now the tax payers pay apile each year dealing with problem bears.

Our galls sell for around $12 to $14 dollars an ounce, Back when they were illegal they sold for alot more. like what was mentioned before it s not enouph to go out and poach one but its some gas money or some dog food. To bad to leave them laying in the woods.JMO

Here in California, possession of more than one bear gall bladder, is considered pro forma evidence of trafficking regardless if the two or more galls were from legally taken bears. I think the poaching for galls in California exists to some extent but not the way "Wild Justice" portrays it. I'm sure 90% of the crap you can buy in San Francisco's Chinatown ain't really bear gall but you'll never hear that from Fish and Game. Bob, you done opened a can of worms for sure. This is gonna get interesting. -Pete

i had some i threw away once i found out what the middleman was making on them .the meat ,and the memories will have to do as far as im concerned. at the same time i dont have a problem with someone else selling their galls i just dont like making someone else rich for basically doing nothing . i see enough of that from work.