Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development are reporting that conservation officers, through a variety of enforcement activities, have fined and ticketed numerous individuals for illegal activities during the months of October, 2022 through January, 2023.
On Oct. 29, 2022, two individuals from Winnipeg and Landmark were found hunting moose along the Steeprock Road in the Porcupine Provincial Forest, which is closed to all moose hunting. Charges of hunting moose within the moose closure were laid. If convicted, a person can be fined up to $25,000 or receive up to six months in jail, or both.
On Nov. 25, 2022, an off-duty conservation officer from the Swan River district observed a vehicle parked on the side of the road near Renwer. An individual was in the box of the truck and drag marks could be seen coming from the bush along the road. An on-duty officer was called to the scene, but the vehicle had left. The officer followed the drag marks and observed a large spray of blood and hair, and determined the direction from which a bullet had come from. The officer investigated a road about 75 metres away and located a single spent cartridge. Officers subsequently located a vehicle matching the initial description and located a white-tailed deer carcass in the box of the truck. A passenger from Grande Prairie, Alta. claimed ownership of the deer and admitted to shooting it from the road. Officers seized the deer and rifle. The passenger was charged $486 for discharging a rifle from a municipal road and issued a $1,500 restitution notice for the white-tailed deer.
On Dec. 1, 2022, Boissevain conservation officers received a tip-line call about a white-tailed deer that was shot and abandoned near Carroll. Upon investigation, officers identified a suspect from Carroll. The individual was subsequently issued tickets totaling $1,158 for wastage and failing to notch a white-tailed deer tag. One firearm was seized. The man also faces a two-year hunting suspension of his game bird and big-game licences.
On Dec. 8, 2022, Swan River conservation officers received tip-line information of a possible night-hunting violation. A responding officer discovered a truck stuck in the snow and passengers trying to dig out while the driver had gone for help. No immediate evidence of hunting was initially discovered. The three individuals managed to free the vehicle and left. Subsequently, another officer searching the area via snowmobile discovered a freshly killed elk buried in snow on private land. Footprints were located coming from the area of where the truck was stuck. Officers found the individuals from Pine Creek First Nation and issued tickets for hunting on private land without permission ($486) and possessing illegally taken wildlife ($1,296). A rifle was seized and a $2,500 restitution notice was also issued. The elk was donated to a local resident.
On Dec. 19, 2022, a conservation officer from the Riverton district received a call regarding the shooting of three elk off a municipal road in the Fisher Branch area. Officers investigated and located three elk kill sites and determined that two of the three elk were illegally shot from the municipal road. On Dec. 20, 2022, officers attended the residence of the two elk hunters who only had one tag. Both hunters admitted to each shooting an elk. A two-point bull elk and a bull calf elk were seized. Both hunters, from Morweena, were issued two tickets totaling $3,564, one ticket for shooting from a municipal road and the second ticket for possessing an illegally taken big-game animal. Both hunters were also issued $5,000 restitution notices.
In early January 2023, aircraft patrols were conducted by conservation officers from Dauphin, Swan River, Neepawa and Shoal Lake in collaboration with the provincial wildlife health manager to detect illegal baiting, illegal feeding, or any attractants promoting nose-to-nose feeding within the tuberculosis/chronic wasting disease control zones. Several locations were observed and officers followed up by confirming findings once on the ground. Landowners were notified of the attractants and removal/clean-up orders were issued.
On Jan. 18, 2023, following an investigation into images posted on social media, conservation officers executed a search warrant in Dauphin. On Jan. 25, 2023, conservation officers charged a Dauphin man for killing a buck white-tailed deer without a licence, possessing illegally taken wildlife, possessing wildlife without a valid tag attached, and failing to cut out the correct date of the killing from the game tag. His fines and restitution totaled $3,000.
Anyone with information on illegal activity is asked to call a local Natural Resources and Northern Development office or the Turn in Poachers (TIP) line at 1-800-782-0076.
