FINED $7,500 FOR CARELESS HUNTING

[Some Old Guy 968]

Four Vermont men have been fined $7,500 after being convicted of a variety of deer hunting violations which took place north of Kenora.

A man from Worcester and a man from Barre, have been fined $1,500 and $1,000, respectively, for careless hunting and will be required to successfully complete a hunter’s education course before being allowed to hunt in Ontario again. They were also fined $500 for allowing flesh of a game animal to become unsuitable for human consumption.

All four men were also fined $1,000 each for night hunting. The entire party has been banned from hunting in Ontario for one year and one man received an additional one year ban as the shooter. Their four rifles that were seized will be returned when the fines are paid.

On October 24, 2007, the four men were driving on the Anderson Road, which is a rural residential area, when they spotted a buck on the west side of the road. One of the men from Worcester got out of the truck, shot and killed the buck despite the fact that it was after the end of legal hunting time. The men left the buck and returned the next day to retrieve it. After attempting to drag it to the truck, they abandoned it a second time.

Kenora District conservation officers were contacted and the trophy-sized buck was seized and later disposed of because the meat was no longer suitable for donation to charity. Assistance from local residents aided the conservation officers in tracking down the parties involved.