Ten Ontario men have been fined a total of $7,750 for various moose hunting offences.
David Bodhaine of Brockville pleaded guilty and was fined $1,000 for unlawfully hunting a cow moose and $1,000 for unlawfully possessing a cow moose. He also received a two-year licence suspension.
Brian Kitchen of Corbeil pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing a cow moose and was fined $1,500. Additionally, he is prohibited from hunting with non-Indigenous people for two years.
Robert Constante of Brampton pleaded guilty and was fined $500 for unlawfully possessing a cow moose and $500 for providing false information to a conservation officer.
John Bos of Astorville, Randy Bouchard of Ingleside, Doug Coughlin of Oro Station, Roger Crites of Ingleside, Bradley Fleming of Brampton, and William Taylor of Codrington pleaded guilty and were each fined $500 for unlawfully possessing a cow moose. Nathan St. Louis of Cornwall pleaded guilty and was fined $250 for the same offence.
Court heard that on October 10, 2013, Bodhaine, a member of Ten Penny Hunt Camp, unlawfully shot and killed a cow moose when he was only licensed to hunt a bull moose. Contact was made with the adjacent Sand Dam Hunt Camp, and Kitchen, a camp guest, offered to claim that he had shot the cow moose under an Aboriginal right to do so. All members or guests from both camps, including Bos, Bouchard, Constante, Coughlin, Crites, Fleming and Taylor assisted in some part of the field dressing, possession or transportation of the cow moose from the remote site near Rabbit Lake in Eldridge Township to the Corbeil area. All persons involved later received a portion of the cow moose meat, as did St. Louis. During a routine check on October 11, 2013, Constante provided false information to a conservation officer concerning who had harvested the cow moose. In October 2014, an investigation was initiated which revealed the illegal hunting.
Justice of the Peace Ruby Beck heard the case for Bos on October 20, 2016. Justice of the Peace Jean-Marie Blier heard the case for Kitchen on December 10, 2015. Justice of the Peace Ruby Beck heard the case for the remaining men on September 24, 2015. All cases were heard in the Ontario Court of Justice in Temiskaming Shores.
For further information on hunting regulations, please consult the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary available at ontario.ca/hunting.
To report a natural resources violation, call the MNRF TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).