FORT FRANCES – Two Ontario men have pleaded guilty and were fined a total of $3,000 for hunting offences.
David Brant of Victoria Harbour was fined $2,000 and received a two-year hunting suspension for illegal moose hunting.
Francis Breen of Grimsby was fined $1,000 and received a one-year hunting suspension for unlawfully attaching his game seal to a moose that he was not licensed to harvest.
The court heard that on October 10, 2015, the two men were hunting with a group near Korpi Road, north of Fort Frances. Brant was successful in harvesting a bull moose. Upon arriving at the kill site, the group members realized the moose had been shot in the wrong Wildlife Management Unit (WMU). Breen, who was the holder of a bull moose validation seal for a different WMU, attached his seal to the animal. The group was transporting the moose from the area to a butcher shop for processing when they were stopped by conservation officers. The other members of the group were issued warnings for their involvement in the hunt. The moose was seized and forfeited to the Crown.
Justice of the Peace Pat Clysdale-Cornell heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Fort Frances, on April 29, 2016.
The public is reminded that respecting Wildlife Management Unit boundaries is critical in effectively managing the moose population and determining harvest allocation. For further information on hunting regulations, please consult the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary available at ontario.ca/hunting.
