Robert Breault pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting big game without an appropriate licence and for abandoning flesh that was suitable for human consumption, both offences under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. He was fined $1,500 and given a one-year hunting suspension.
Jerry Bertrand pleaded guilty to abandoning flesh that was suitable for human consumption and was fined $1,000.
The court heard that on Nov. 9, 2012, the MNR Tips line received a call regarding an abandoned cow moose. A Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer attended the scene and collected physical evidence.
Through an investigation, it was determined that Breault and Bertrand were hunting together on Nov. 8, 2012. They mistakenly shot a cow moose thinking it was a calf, and then abandoned the animal. As both men co-operated during the investigation, lower fines were sought.
Justice of the Peace Norman Ross heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on March 12, 2013.
Poachers fined
In a similar story, six Ontario men pleaded guilty March 12 and were fined a total of $8,050 for poaching and concealing a cow moose in Hawley Township in northeastern Ontario, according to the MNR.
Both offences fall under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act related to the
Darren Hyatt, of Merlin, pleaded guilty to hunting moose without the authority of a licence and possessing illegally killed wildlife. He received a fine of $2,250 and a one-year hunting suspension.
Joseph Brosseau, of St. Charles, pleaded guilty to possessing illegally killed wildlife and obstructing a conservation officer. He received a fine of $1,800.
The remaining members of the group, Christopher Wright of Merlin, Joseph W. Brosseau Jr. of Merlin, Raymond Picard of North Bay and Jeffery Bembridge of Tilbury each received a $1,000 fine for possessing illegally killed wildlife.
The court heard that on Nov. 7, 2012, a conservation officer was on regular patrol on the Beauparlant Road in St. Charles when a side-by-side utility terrain vehicle failed to stop for inspection. Through the subsequent stop of a second all-terrain vehicle, which was part of the same hunting group, the officer determined that Darren Hyatt had shot a cow moose without the appropriate licence.
The group had gathered at the kill site to help skin and quarter the moose, which was then placed in the back of the side-by-side utility terrain vehicle and covered with a tarp.
The moose was later found hidden in the bush under sheet metal behind the group’s camp.
