Saskatchewan outfitting service trapped wild deer and moose for European clients

A Saskatchewan outfitting service fined for trapping wild deer and moose for European clients, according to conservation officers.

Saskatchewan conservation officers have charged two people following an investigation into an illegal outfitting scheme near Briercrest.

In December 2023, Moose Jaw conservation officers received information that a wild moose had been harvested inside the Hartland Whitetails Ltd. game farm enclosure, and wild deer were being baited into the fenced area.

Officers travelled to the site and identified Allen Morhart as the owner.

A year-and-a-half-long investigation found three European clients travelled to the game farm from Sept. 25 to Sept. 30, 2023.

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Morhart outfitted one client without the required license, leading to the unlawful harvest of a wild moose on Sept. 27 and a wild mule deer on Sept. 28, 2023, according to the Conservation Officer Service.

Both animals were later taken to a taxidermist, where investigators found a Saskatchewan resident moose license seal had been improperly supplied by an employee of Hartland Whitetails Ltd.

An agreed statement of facts from the accused and Crown confirmed deer were being baited into the enclosure and a wild moose had entered the fence in the winter of 2022, which was never reported to the appropriate ministry.

The captive wild mule deer found inside a second enclosure at the game farm were euthanized and tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.

On Nov. 25, 2025, Morhart pleaded guilty to unlawfully acting as an outfitter for both moose ($12,800) and mule deer ($16,800), allowing his license to be used by another person ($250) and unlawfully possessing six wild mule deer ($5,600).

The penalties total $36,400, plus a five-year hunting license suspension.

On Oct. 20, 2025, Erich Mueller, an Austrian hunt broker connected to the offences, was convicted of aiding and abetting unlawful hunting and outfitting without a license.

Mueller received $6,760 in fines and a one-year hunting license suspension.