Two people from Ayr and one person from Paris fined a combined $10K for illegal hunting

An Ontario Conservation Office truck is seen in this undated file image. (Submitted: Government of Ontario)

Three people are facing hefty fines for illegal hunting.

In a news release, the provincial government said two people from Ayr and one person from Paris pleaded guilty to hunting migratory birds within 400 metres of where bait had been deposited. One of the Ayr residents also pleaded guilty to killing more than the daily bag limit of ducks.

In total, the trio was fined $10,500 and they are now prohibited from applying for a migratory game bird hunting permit for one year.

The penalties stem from an investigation on Sept. 19, 2024. Conservation officers were conducting inspections in the Wrigley Road area in the Region of Waterloo. The officers said they found submerged oats in a pond.

When officers went back to the area on Sept. 28, they found the three people at a nearby pond. Investigators said they were hunting ducks where the oats had been submerged, and one person had harvested more ducks than allowed by his daily bag limit. The ducks were seized and forfeited.