Should fines be increased to help stop illegal dumping in the bush?

Photo: Contributed

Junk cleared from the forest near Crystal Mountain on the Westside earlier this year.

The Okanagan Forest Task Force recently discovered roughly 25,000 pounds of trash in a remote forest area near Kelowna.

Amongst the sea of trash, Kane Blake and his colleague Ajay Weintz discovered wildlife such as bears, chipmunks and birds. Some animals made homes inside of the abandoned cars and travel trailers filled to the ceiling with garbage.

“It’s super disappointing to see animals living in these conditions, because they’re basically living wherever there's trash, and we don’t want that. It's just like when I find a pop can underwater and there's a fish living in it, it's never a good sight,” said Weintz.

Blake has been very vocal on social media about illegal dumping in the region. He recently captured a video of a chipmunk who made a home in an abandoned car's ventilation system. The car's windshield had been shattered, and the animal was living amongst the wreckage.

“It's absolutely disgusting. One of the big things I'm an advocate for is, when people have a family pet, you’re their voice. If it gets hurt, sick or anything like that, you take it to the vet. Nobody’s speaking up for the wildlife that have to live in this,” said Blake.

Blake also said their recent discovery was one of their worst campsites they've ever come across.

"Not the worst we’ve ever seen in one area, that would have been a few years ago, but easily the worst campsite we’ve seen” explained Blake.

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