Dog Owners, Conservation Officers Warn Of Discarding Barbed Hooks

PRINCE GEORGE- A local pet owner is speaking out after her dog found a discarded fishing lure near the river yesterday. The dog got the barbed hook stuck in her snout and had to be rushed to the emergency vet. Her owner, Jacq Gramsma says the situation could have been a lot worse. “I have fur babies but other people have babies, and if a toddler was wandering around and picked that up themselves it could have been a lot worse than it was,” said Gramsma. She wants people to be more careful before leaving lures behind. “Just be careful, clean up after yourself, I know accidents happen and maybe this just fell out of somebody’s tackle box, but actions have consequences.”

Not only are barbed hooks illegal to use in streams and rivers in BC, conservation officers say intentionally leaving a lure behind could land you a fine for littering. “A lot of the rivers have a catch and release species so if you have a barbed hook it’s hard to release,” said Sgt. Steve Ackles, “whether it be candy wrappers, sandwich wrappers, fishing line, that is litter…fishing line and fishing hooks hurt other animals so it’s really not advisable.” Ackles says those who are caught using barbed hooks near rivers could be fined $150 and littering is an additional $115.