Two Sault men were among nine northern Ontario hunters slapped with hefty fines for failing to meet tagging requirements during last year’s moose season.
Brett Millroy and William Millroy of Sault Ste. Marie recently pleaded guilty in a Chapleau court to being party to the offence of failing to attach an invalidated tag to an animal after harvesting it. Each was fined $870.
The court heard that on October 19, 2022, a conservation officer inspected a hunting party on an old logging road off Highway 129 near Chapleau.
Daniel Gabcan of Blind River produced a valid cow/calf moose tag that was not notched at the time of inspection. In fact, there was no mention at all of a moose being shot.
Continuing down the road, the officer discovered a cow moose gutted and covered in brush in one of the logging cuts with no tag attached. Conservation officers attended the scene the next day and found the same hunting party retrieving the moose that was left overnight. The cow moose and tag were seized.
Gabcan pleaded guilty to failing to invalidate a tag immediately after a harvest, failing to attach an invalidated tag to an animal after harvesting it, and unlawfully possessing an animal that was required to have a tag attached to it. He was fined a total of $1,800.
The Millroys were fined for being a party to that offence.
David Phillips, Martin Thistel, and Harry Van Amelsfoort of Blind River, along with James Phillips and Robert Comtois of Sudbury were each fined $870 after pleading guilty to unlawfully possessing an animal that was required to have a tag attached to it.
Marc Dupras of Sudbury also pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing an animal that was required to have a tag attached. He was fined $500 and is prohibited from possessing an Ontario hunting licence and engaging in any hunting activities for one year.
“The Ontario government is safeguarding moose populations by ensuring hunters follow the hunting regulations,” says a news release issued Friday by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, announcing the convictions.
Justice of the Peace Wade Cachagee heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Chapleau, on Sept. 21.
Anyone can report a natural resource problem or provide information about an unsolved case by calling the ministry TIPS line toll free at 1-877-847-7667, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.
More information about unsolved cases can be found HERE.