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 month of November, 2022.
On Nov. 15, 2022, conservation officers conducted a patrol to target illegal night hunting in the Pine Falls area. Officers observed a vehicle repeatedly shining a spotlight on various farm fields along Provincial Road 304. Officers stopped the vehicle and four male occupants, one male from Sagkeeng First Nation and three males from Pine Falls, were arrested for night hunting. With assistance from a K-9 unit, officers located a firearm discarded from the vehicle along the roadway. Officers seized the firearm, hunting gear, and the vehicle. Three adults were issued court appearance notices for illegally hunting at night with lights and a 15-year-old youth was released to his guardian.
On Nov. 17, 2022, conservation officers from the North Whiteshell district received a report of a suspicious vehicle stopped on Highway 44 near Rennie. Conservation officers attended the area and observed a kill site and drag marks. Conservation officers located the individuals and further investigation revealed that one individual had previously filled their general white-tailed deer tag when they shot and killed a white-tailed deer doe. That individual, from Whitemouth, was issued a ticket for hunting a big game animal without a valid licence, a ticket for possessing illegally taken wildlife, and a warning for discharging a firearm from a highway. The white-tailed deer doe was seized and donated. The individual was issued a ticket and restitution totalling $3,282.
On Nov. 19, 2022, conservation officers from the North Whiteshell district encountered individuals on a resource road near Whitemouth and conducted a compliance check. During the check, one individual advised they had shot a white-tailed deer buck. That individual could not produce a licence for inspection when requested. Further inspection revealed the tag affixed to the deer was not properly filled out and did not match that of the individual’s licence. The individual, from Winnipeg, was subsequently issued a ticket for possessing a big game animal under the authority of a tag other than that issued with the licence and a ticket of $846 for failing to carry their licence on their person while using it. The deer was seized and donated.
On Nov. 20, 2022, a Beausejour conservation officer investigated a complaint in the La Broquerie area of trapper trespassing. An individual had set several power snares on private land without permission of the owner. This negligent action resulted in the death of two of the homeowner’s dogs. The individual, from La Broquerie West, was identified and charged with trapping on private land without permission and trapping in a manner dangerous to property. The individual faces fines of up to $25,000 or imprisonment for a term of no more than six months, or both.
On Nov. 24, 2022, Beausejour conservation officers conducted a white-tailed deer decoy operation in the Anola area in response to complaints of individuals shooting deer from the road. Officers observed two individuals in a grey truck stopped at the decoy and the passenger shoot the decoy out the window using a high-powered rifle. Officers conducted a stop and arrested two individuals. The shooter, from Ross, was charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle and because this occurred in an archery only area, he was also charged with hunting out of season. Two rifles and other hunting equipment was seized. The shooter was issued a ticket for $1,782 and given a two-year hunting suspension. The driver of the vehicle, also from Ross, was charged with hunting from a vehicle and faces fines of $1,296 and a two-year hunting suspension.
On Nov. 28, 2022, a conservation officer from Dauphin checking deer hunters near Sifton discovered an SUV passenger in possession of a loaded firearm with a freshly fired cartridge in the chamber and two live rounds in the magazine. The officer noted the safety was off on the firearm. When questioned, the passenger admitted he had just killed a white-tailed buck. The white-tailed deer, located in the back hatch of the SUV, was not tagged and the game tag had not been notched. The deer, rifle, and game tags were seized and the hunter was issued tickets for having a loaded firearm in a vehicle and failing to notch his game tag. On further investigation, the individual was issued additional charges for shooting along a municipal roadway and possession of illegally taken wildlife. In total, the Port Perry, Ont. resident faces fines of $2,754, a two-year hunting prohibition, and $1,500 restitution for the white-tailed buck.
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.
