$4,000 in Fines for Illegal Moose Hunt
Moose, Highway 614 Northern Ontario. Moose populations stay healthy when hunting regulations are respected to support conservation plans. Photo OntarioNewsNorth.com
Two Thunder Bay area residents were fined a total of $4,000 for moose hunting offences.
Theodore Aho of Thunder Bay pleaded guilty and was fined $1,500 for hunting calf moose during the closed season and $1,500 for abandoning the moose and allowing it to spoil. He also received a one-year hunting suspension.
Bruce Macsemchuk of Kakabeka Falls pleaded guilty and was fined $1,000 for making a false statement to a conservation officer during an investigation.
Court heard that on October 15, 2016, Aho and Macsemchuk were party hunting for cow moose near Aldina Road, southwest of Thunder Bay. Aho mistakenly shot a calf moose, when the calf season had already closed. Rather than notifying the ministry that the calf had been shot by mistake, Aho and Macsemchuk fled the area, allowing the moose to spoil.
Justice of the Peace Anna Gibbon heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Thunder Bay, on July 5, 2017.
The ministry reminds the public that it is illegal to abandon the flesh of harvested animals that is suitable for food.
To report a natural resources violation, call the MNRF TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
