Americans fined for shooting moose from motorboat in Ontario

Conservation officer Ron Arnold talks about a pair of American men who pleaded guilty to shooting a moose from a motorboat on Loree Lake in October 2023.

Two American men have been fined a total of $10,000 for illegally shooting a bull moose from a motorboat on a lake in northwestern Ontario.

Danion Chevalier of Quincy, Illinois, and Michael Calteaux of Winona, Minnesota, both pleaded guilty to shooting a bull moose from a motorboat in the Ontario Court of Justice.

Court hears how offence unfolded

The court heard the incident took place in October 2023 while the men were moose hunting on Loree Lake, about 140 kilometres north of the Municipality of Red Lake.

Conservation officers said the pair were in a motorboat when they saw a bull moose.

“Calteaux positioned the motorboat to a location close to the moose,” the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a recent court bulletin.

“Chevalier proceeded to shoot the moose from the motorboat.”

Shooting a moose from a motorized vessel is illegal under Ontario hunting regulations.

Fines, hunting bans issued

Justice of the Peace Jerry M. Woods Jr., who heard the case remotely in Red Lake, fined Chevalier $5,500 and Calteaux $4,500.

In addition to the financial penalties, both men received a mandatory hunting ban.

“Both individuals are prohibited from hunting in Ontario for two years,” the ministry wrote in its bulletin.

To report a natural resource problem or provide information about an unsolved case, call the ministry TIPS line toll-free at 1-877-847-7667 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously.

For more information about unsolved cases, click here.

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