FINED $1,500 FOR HUNTING WITHOUT A LICENCE

[Some Old Guy 968]

FORT FRANCES - A Fort Frances man has been fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to hunting moose without a licence.

Andrew Shepanski, 49, has been banned from hunting for a year. The bull moose was forfeited to the Crown and donated to charity.

The court heard that on November 5, 2006, Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers checked Shepanski and another man at Highway 502 and Preacher Road in Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 9A. Shepanski, who produced a bull moose licence for WMU 8, told the officers that he hadn't shot a moose. The officers checked the area and found a freshly killed bull moose, which Shepanski later confessed to having shot.

Justice of the Peace Pat Clysdale-Cornell heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Fort Frances, on December 18, 2006.

The ministry reminds the public that hunting regulations are in place to protect the sustainability of moose populations and to give all hunters a fair chance to participate in the hunt.

To report a natural resource violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).