The Manitoba Conservation Officer gave their Service Enforcement Update today, and there were multiple offenses in our area.
On August 28th, Four Saskatchewan hunters were fined $12,000 and given an order to appear in court after shooting two moose inside a protected area near Riding Mountain National Park.
Conservation officers in Saskatchewan spotted a suspicious vehicle driving near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border in late August. Officers then witnessed someone in the vehicle shoot two moose inside Manitoba, within a conservation closure area.
They contacted Manitoba Conservation officers in Roblin, who arrived at the scene to investigate. Four people from Saskatchewan were issued Manitoba court appearance notices for two counts of possessing moose killed within a moose conservation closure area.
A $12,000 restitution notice was issued by the officers at the scene, but it will be up to the court to determine the full penalty. A rifle along with other hunting equipment and the animals were seized at the scene.
On September 3rd, Conservation officers in the Ashern area apprehended two individuals for illegally fishing using gill nets in Lake Manitoba. The pair were charged under the Fisheries Act for fishing without a license and unlawfully possessing fish caught without a license and a restitution notice for $3,108.
Officers also seized a boat, outboard motor, and fishing gear including two-gill nets, 74 walleye, and one quillback.
Then, on October 3rd, conservation officers in Dauphin received a report that there was a bull moose along PTH 5.
Officers found an individual hunting the moose from the back of an ATV, and they determined the hunter had fired shots over the highway. The hunter was charged with discharging a firearm so the projectile crosses a provincial road, with fines totaling $672.
Later that evening, officers got a call from a landowner saying someone had shot a moose on their property. Officers arrived at the scene to find the landowner and an individual.
They charged the individual for hunting on private land without permission and possession of illegally taken wildlife. They were fined a total of $4,282 for the two offenses, and the firearm and animal were both seized.
The full Manitoba COnservation Officer Service Enforcement Update can be found here.