TIPS Results

A telephone tip cost four hunters $8,500 in fines for illegally killing a bull moose. More...

KENOREA - APRIL 2008

HUNTERS FINED $2,600 THANKS TO TIPS CALL

Three men from Taschereau, Quebec, have been fined $2,600 for illegal hunting.

The first man was fined $1,300 for careless hunting and $300 for failing to immediately attach a seal to game wildlife.  He was banned from hunting for a year and must pass the hunter safety course before applying for an Ontario hunting licence.  His firearm will be returned when the fine is paid.  The deer was forfeited to the Crown.

The second man was fined $600 and the third man was fined $400 for unlawfully transporting wildlife.
  
On November 4, 2007, the three men were traveling south in the second man’s truck on Highway 71 through the town of Nestor Falls.  After they saw a buck deer crossing the highway, he stopped the truck, the first man got out and stood on the side of the highway and killed the deer with one shot.  He had fired his rifle in an area of Nestor Falls where no shooting was allowed, in the midst of a residential area with a school and an outdoor rink nearby. 

The men loaded the deer into the truck and drove several kilometers down a logging road north of Nestor Falls where they gutted the animal and the first man tagged it with his deer licence tag.  The men returned to a tourist camp to hang the deer.

Ministry of Natural Resources Kenora District conservation officers received a tip from the MNR TIPS line from an area resident who was concerned that the deer shooting endangered public safety.  Officers located the men, who claimed that the deer had been killed where it was gutted.  Eventually, they changed their story and took the officers to the site where the deer was actually killed.

The case was heard in Ontario Court of Justice, Kenora, March 27, 2008.

BRACEBRIDGE – NOVEMBER 2007

HUNTER FINED $4,000 FOR SHOOTING AND ABANDONING TWO MOOSE

A Newton, Ontario man has been fined $4,000 for killing two moose and letting the meat spoil.

The man plead guilty to killing a cow moose without a licence and to two counts of abandoning a game mammal suitable for food. He was also suspended from hunting for one year.

Court was told that conservation officers - responding to information received through the TIPS-MNR line - found a cow and calf moose abandoned in a wetland area in McClintock Township, near Dwight on October 16, 2007. The man confessed to the officers that he had shot at an animal he thought was a bull moose. When he discovered that he had shot a cow moose instead, he left the scene and didn’t tell anyone. Investigators also determined that while shooting at the cow the man shot and killed a calf moose that was standing close by.

The case was heard in the Ontario Court of Justice, Bracebridge, on November 15, 2007.

Ontario manages moose hunting through a selective harvest system to ensure the sustainability of moose populations. MNR reminds hunters they must be sure of an animal’s sex and age before shooting. Responsible hunters who accidentally kill the wrong animal should contact MNR immediately so that the meat can be salvaged.

PORT HOPE – November 2007

ILLEGAL TURKEY HUNTING RESULTS IN HUNTING SUSPENSION AND HEFTY FINE

Three Toronto-area men have been fined $6250 for turkey-related hunting offences.

The first man was convicted of careless hunting, illegally shooting from a vehicle, shooting a non-bearded wild turkey, possessing illegally killed wildlife, using prohibited shot, and hunting with an unplugged shotgun. He was fined $4750 and his hunting licence was suspended for three years. He must also complete the hunter safety training course again before renewing his hunting licences. He also forfeited his shotgun to the Crown.

The second man was convicted of possessing illegally killed wildlife and transporting illegally killed wildlife and was fined a total of $1000. He was convicted of possessing illegally killed wildlife and was fined $500.

Acting on a tip received on the opening day of the turkey season -April 25, 2007 - Conservation Officers started investigating in the Hastings area. While they were interviewing a witness, the officers saw the suspect vehicle return. They stopped the vehicle and found a loaded firearm and a plucked hen turkey inside. The third man, a passenger in the vehicle, admitted shooting and killing the bird.

The case was heard in the Ontario Court of Justice in Port Hope on November 1, 2007.

Ontario residents who wish to hunt wild turkeys must have a valid hunting version outdoors card, a small game licence, a wild turkey licence and wild turkey game seal. They must also take and pass a wild turkey hunter education course. Hunters can only harvest turkeys with a visible beard (modified breast feathers usually found on male birds).

PARRY SOUND – October 2007

Mnr Tips Line Helps Conservation Officers During Recent Moose Hunt Blitz

Members of the public placed 24 calls to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) TIPS line and helped Parry Sound district conservation officers during their recent moose hunt enforcement blitz.

Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers from across southern Ontario conducted the blitz in the Parry Sound district during the six-day moose hunt from October 15 to 20. Officers checked 1,151 hunters and issued 54 charges and 66 warnings, including:

• 30 charges and 25 warnings under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 13 for illegal moose and one for illegal bear;
• Nine charges and two warnings under the Liquor Licence Act, and
• 15 charges and 39 warnings for other provincial statute violations.
• Violations included:
  • Hunting moose, bear and small game without valid licences;
  • Having a loaded firearm on a vehicle including ATVs;
  • Unlawfully possessing another person’s game seal;
  • Not wearing helmets on ATVs, and
  • Having open liquor.

Conservation officers are also conducting three investigations for illegal moose hunting.

CHAPLEAU – September 2007

$2,000 Fine for Spoiled Cow Moose

A Parkhill man has been fined $2,000 for abandoning a cow moose.

The man plead guilty and was convicted of allowing game meat, suitable for eating, to spoil.

Court was told that in October 2005, a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer, acting on a complaint from the public, found an abandoned cow moose in Greenlaw Township East of Chapleau. The following investigation found that the man shot the moose and left it to spoil.

The case was heard in the Ontario Court of Justice, Chapleau, on September 5, 2007.

COCHRANE – June 2007

A Cochrane man has been convicted of doing shore work without a permit.

The man plead guilty and has been fined $1,500 for depositing aggregate on the shore lands of Kurtswig Lake. He also rehabilitated the site before his court appearance.

Court was told that on March 16, 2007, a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer and resource management technician went to the lake after getting a tip through the Ministry of Natural Resources TIPS line. Ministry staff found 50 metres of the shore lands had been filled in with aggregate to a depth of about 30 centimetres.

RED ROCK – May 2007

The Ministry of Natural Resources is asking the public's help in determining who caught and wasted sensitive sport fish.

Acting on a tip from the public, Nipigon District conservation officers went to Escape Road, about one kilometre from Red Rock, where they found seven whole rainbow trout, two brook trout and a walleye.

The discarded fish are part of a sensitive sport fishery protected by reduced limits and seasons. The Nipigon area is known for its trophy steelhead and brook trout fishery.

PETERBOROUGH – April 2007

A Markham man has been fined $2000 on a charge related to illegal deer hunting.

Court was told that on December 8, 2006, after receiving a tip from the public, Ontario Provincial Police officers and a Ministry of Natural Resources Conservation Officer found a man with a deer he had shot with a rifle on private property in Galway-Cavendish-Harvey Township. The rifle hunt for deer in that area had ended on November 19.

In addition to the fine, the man was suspended from hunting for 2 years.

TIMMINS – March 2007

A Cochrane man has been banned from hunting for four years and fined $1,500 for hunting white-tailed deer without a proper tag and then abandoning the meat.

After receiving a tip from the public, a Kenora District conservation officer investigated the incident. During questioning with the officer, the man confessed that he had shot the deer and left it to waste.

Court was told that over several days in October of 2006, the man was hunting near Witch Bay Road in the Kenora area with two other hunters. They had 12 valid game seals for deer in Wildlife Management Unit 7B - three tags for antlered deer and nine for antlerless deer. By October 15, the men had harvested 11 deer, including their limit of three with antlers but that same day the accused hunter killed a small buck with short antlers, which he had mistaken for an antlerless deer.

To cover up his offence, the man tried to find another hunter to tag the deer for him, which is also illegal. When that failed, he abandoned the deer and left it to rot, instead of reporting his mistake to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

CHATHAM – March 2007

Call to MNR-TIPS LINE results in total $1,250 fines on charges related to illegal duck hunting.

The man plead guilty and was fined $500 for obstructing a game officer, $250 for hunting a migratory game bird without a licence, and $500 for having lead shot. He was also banned from having a migratory game bird permit for one year.

After a call to the Ministry of Natural Resources tips line, conservation officers found a man hunting ducks on Lake St. Clair in Chatham-Kent on October 18, 2006. The man did not have a valid migratory game bird permit, he was using a shotgun loaded with lead shells and he tried to hide evidence during the investigation.

GERALDTON – March 2007

$6,000 Fine for Abandoned Moose

A tip from the public, forensic analysis and thorough investigation helped convict two Brockville men for their roles in illegal moose hunting.

One man was fined $4,000 for illegally hunting a cow moose, abandoning the meat of a game animal and making a false statement to a conservation officer. He was also banned from hunting for five years.

The other man was fined $2,000 for abandoning the meat of a game animal and making a false statement to a conservation officer. He was also banned from hunting for one year.

The court was told that in early October, the two men were party hunting west of Geraldton when their group shot a bull and cow moose. On October 10, 2006, the two men were hunting together in the Wildgoose Beach Road area, where one of the men shot a cow moose even though neither man had a cow moose tag. They abandoned the moose instead of reporting it to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Another hunter discovered the abandoned moose the next day and alerted conservation officers. The officers collected evidence and interviewed hunters for the next two days. With the help of Kemptville District conservation officers and forensic analysis of the evidence, the officers were able to lay charges.

KAPUSKASING – February 2007

A Mattice man was fined $6,000 for having 30 walleye over the legal limit.

Court was told that on July 21, 2006, acting on a tip to the ministry's TIPS line, conservation officers stopped a group of anglers on Gurney Road in Torrance Township, north of Kapuskasing. A large number of whole and filleted fish were seized by the investigating officers.

In addition to the fine, the court suspended his fishing licence for two years.

BROCKVILLE – July 2006

Two Toronto area men were fined a total of $1,750 for fishing violations that occurred in the provincial fish sanctuary at Jones Falls Bay on Whitefish Lake, South Crosby Township.

Acting on a public complaint, Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers from Kemptville District went to the provincial sanctuary on June 26, 2006. After seeing the men fishing in the sanctuary, where fishing is prohibited, the conservation officers stopped the men as they were driving away.

One man was fined $500 for keeping a bass under the size limit, and the other man was fined $250 for leaving the area but leaving fish in the water that were still attached to a stringer and unable to escape. All fishing equipment and fish seized at the time of the occurrence were forfeited to the Crown. Conservation officers were able to release the live bass left on a stringer.

NORTH BAY – July 2006

MNR received a TIPS call that a resident of the United States was angling in the Port Loring area and was in possession of a large quantity of bass. The caller's information was very detailed. The next day a Conservation Officer went to the location and found a resident of Ohio in possession of 37 smallmouth bass (31 over his limit) and he was still fishing.

The officer also determined that he did not have an angling licence. The officer seized his boat and motor and all of his fishing equipment along with the fish. In court in January he plead guilty to angling without a licence, possession of fish that could not be readily counted and over possession of smallmouth bass. He was fined $1,875. and was given a two year angling suspension. He will get his equipment back when his fines are paid.

Quote from the investigating Conservation Officer: “These are great results for a first conviction. I doubt that any of this would have happened without the TIPS line. ”

BANCROFT – December 2006

Three Ontario residents received $8,000 in fines, hunting suspensions and lost their vehicle and hunting equipment after being caught red-handed poaching bear by conservation officers.

Court was told that the conservation officers began an investigation after receiving complaints from the public about night hunting around the Monck Road landfill site in Faraday Township. Throughout the summer of 2006, the officers collected evidence in and around the dump. On September 1, 2006, on the opening day of the bear season, officers staked out the dump. Three men were arrested after killing a bear with their crossbows.

Further investigation revealed that they had killed three other bears during the summer.

The 3 men were also banned from hunting for two years as part of the court ruling.

MINDEN – December 2006

A telephone tip cost four hunters $8,500 in fines for illegally killing a bull moose.

Court heard that on October 20, 2006, conservation officers received a call to the ministry’s tips line. Investigations found that a man shot a bull moose on October 19 without a bull moose validation tag. Next morning, the four men returned to the kill site, tagged the moose with another man’s tag and transported it out of the bush. When questioned, the four men lied about the valid tag holder being present when the animal was shot.

The men plead guilty to unlawfully attaching a game seal to a moose killed by another person, possessing illegally killed wildlife and making a false statement to a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer.