ENFORCEMENT CHECKS LEAD TO MOOSE HUNTING CHARGES

[Some Old Guy 968]

Twenty-two charges were laid against moose hunters in the Armstrong area after Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers checked hunters during the first five days of the early gun moose-hunting season.

Two Thunder Bay District conservation officers checked 86 hunters from September 20 to 24. In addition to the charges, the officers issued 10 warnings and seized two high-powered rifles in Wildlife Management Unit 16C. The ministry's canine unit helped officers investigate an incident in which a moose was shot in the middle of Trail Lake Road and then abandoned.

Officers laid charges and issued warnings as follows:

12 charges of trespassing for the purpose of hunting

Four charges of illegally having a loaded firearm in a vehicle

Two charges of hunting without carrying a licence

Two charges and one warning for failing to wear a proper helmet for an off-road vehicle

One charge of unlawfully hunting at night

One charge of disobeying a sign

Six warnings for failing to affix a validation tag

Two warnings for illegally possessing a firearm at night

One warning for failing to properly attach a seal to a moose.

Some trespassing charges related to hunters traveling behind signs that said roads were closed. Hunters are reminded to carefully read any signs they find along forest roads, particularly in the Armstrong area, where access to some roads is restricted because of the presence of remote tourism facilities, or in order to manage caribou.