Four hunters fined $8K for illegal Ontario moose hunt

A cow moose walking in autumn in an Ontario provincial park on October 5, 2013. (File photo/Jim Cumming/ShutterStock)

Four individuals have been fined a total of $8,000 for moose hunting violations stemming from an incident in northwestern Ontario in 2023.

The penalties were handed down by an Ontario court earlier this year, after the hunters pleaded guilty to various offences under Ontario’s hunting regulations.

Charges laid after vehicle stop

The investigation began on October 17, 2023 when conservation officers with the Thunder Bay enforcement unit conducted a vehicle stop on Highway 11-17 near the Town of Kakabeka Falls.

“Officers inspected a cow moose that was harvested in Wildlife Management Unit 15B,” the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a recent court bulletin.

“Officers conducted interviews and determined the moose was harvested without following party hunting rules.”

The investigation found that one of the hunters lacked immediate and reliable communication with the other hunters when the moose was harvested, a violation of party hunting regulations.

Individual fines issued

Carlos DeSousa of Toronto pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting cow moose without a licence and received the largest fine of $5,000.

Calvin Fors of Thunder Bay pleaded guilty to possessing illegally killed wildlife and was fined $1,500. Larry Moore, also of Thunder Bay, pleaded guilty to the same charge and was fined $1,000.

Ben Nurmela of Thunder Bay pleaded guilty to unlawfully invalidating a tag on a killed animal and was fined $500.

Justice of the Peace Jerry M. Woods Jr. heard the case in Thunder Bay on May 7.

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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