A Mount Vernon business owner pleaded guilty to illegally trafficking in black bear parts in August after being arrested in a sting operation by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police.

During a nine-month period starting in June 2022, Yan Li illegally bought black bear parts — two dozen paws with the claws still attached, six livers and 13 gall bladders — from undercover WDFW officers, according to court documents.

Black market prices for black bear body parts can range between $100 to $200 in Washington, with a resale value of thousands of dollars in overseas markets, according to a Sept. 15 WDFW news release.

“The perceived medicinal value creates an increased demand for the species and their body parts, which threaten the long-term survivability of a population by overharvesting,” WDFW Police Captain Brad Rhoden said. 

“Beyond being illegal, it’s highly concerning to unethically waste black bears, or any wildlife for that matter, for nothing more than a few body parts being sold on the black market,” he added.

With video evidence collected by authorities, 54-year-old Li faced nine counts of illegal wildlife trafficking.

In August, she pled guilty to a single felony count of trafficking “wildlife with wholesale value of less than $250,” which included one bear gall bladder and two clawed bear paws.” The rest of the charges were dropped.

“The plea agreement is one that we believe is reasonable given the facts and circumstances of the case and our experience prosecuting trafficking cases around the state,” said Mike Faulk, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office.

Li was sentenced to 45 days of home confinement and a $1,800 fine in Skagit County Superior Court on Aug. 25.

“There was no doubt a conviction would be given due to the excellent investigation performed by WDFW on this case,” said prosecutor Scott Halloran from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

The Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to questions about its choice to move forward with the plea deal. 

Li initially ended up on WDFW’s radar after a report of “freshly killed” snow geese were found behind her restaurant in Mount Vernon in February 2020, according to court documents. CDN independently confirmed through public records that Li owns Fortune Mandarin Restaurant, off of I-5.

During a health department inspection, Li said “unknown hunters left wild birds there for other unknown hunters to pick up,” according to court documents. A subsequent inspection by the health department in October found “a pile of 18 freshly shot snow geese outside the back door.”

WDFW issued Li an infraction for illegally possessing wild game.

In November 2021, when hunters were observed leaving waterfowl at the restaurant’s back door again, WDFW launched its undercover investigation. This included 24-hour surveillance of the restaurant’s back door and undercover officers posing as hunters.

The officers sold eight geese to Li for $40, according to court documents.

After obtaining organs and other parts from legally killed black bears, which are considered big game in Washington, the officers offered to sell those to Li. She paid $520 cash for multiple bear gallbladders, paws and a liver in June 2022, according to court documents.

During the transaction at a Chevron gas station in Mount Vernon, Li said that she was going to keep the parts for herself. Previously, she said she planned to re-sell them to “the Asian market in Seattle,” according to court documents.

On Feb. 22, 2023, undercover officers again videotaped Li purchasing parts of black bear and geese. After the transaction was completed, they placed her under arrest, according to court documents.

“Wildlife trafficking is often thought of as elephant ivory or shark fin, which does still occur, however there are a number of local species right here in Washington state that are sought after by people and organizations who will pay for these animal parts to use and traffic to other markets across the country and world,” explained Becky Elder, a WDFW spokesperson. 

It is uncommon for WDFW to identify bear part trafficking, Elder confirmed to CDN.

“Unfortunately, the illegal trade and trafficking of local species is often unknown as they tend to be sold in smaller quantities and can be hidden and transported out of state quickly,” Elder explained. 

She said that the department relies on reports from the public — such as those that first identified Li — to identify local wildlife trafficking. 
A Canadian man pleaded guilty to trafficking in bear parts in Abbotsford last year, according to CBC. Like Li, 52-year-old Hong Tao Yang was the target of an undercover investigation. Yang’s defense said he obtained the bear paws to be cooked and consumed as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine practices. He was fined about $6,300.

Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.