Police say arrests continue at B.C. protests against old-growth logging on Vancouver Island

UPDATE: As of Thursday evening, RCMP say they have arrested 165 people since enforcement of a British Columbia court injunction on southwestern Vancouver Island began.

A total of 158 people havebeen arrested since RCMP began enforcing a British Columbia court injunction ordering the removal of blockades aimed at preventing old-growth logging on southwestern Vancouver Island, police said Wednesday.

The Mounties say seven people were arrested Wednesday for breaching the injunction after officers found a large group blocking both directions of a forestry road in the Braden Creek area near Port Renfrew.

The injunction is to allow workers with the Teal-Jones Group to resume logging in that area and in the Fairy Creek watershed to the south.

Activists say very little of the best old-growth forest remains in B.C.

They say Fairy Creek is the last unprotected, intact old-growth valley on southern Vancouver Island.

Teal-Jones has said it plans to harvest about 20 hectares at the north ridge of the 1,200-hectare watershed out of 200 available for harvest.

WATCH | Protesters camp out in trees, chain themselves to objects:

Protesters chain themselves up to protest old-growth forest logging

3 years ago

Duration 2:12

Protesters are camping out in trees and chaining themselves to whatever they can to continue to fight against the logging of old-growth forests in Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island.