The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry laid 98 charges and issued 143 warnings during a two-week enforcement blitz across Northeastern Ontario.
From Oct. 21 - Nov. 3, area conservation officers contacted more than 3,100 people during the blitz. Officers focused on hunting safety and ensuring hunters were properly distinguishing moose calves from adult moose.
Charges and warnings were issued for:
- Careless hunting
- Having a loaded firearm in a motorized vehicle
- Discharging a firearm from, across or along the travelled portion of a roadway
- Unlawfully possessing an un-encased firearm at night
- Failing to wear hunter orange
- Hunting big game or game birds without a licence
- Unlawfully using a vehicle to kill wildlife
- Unlawfully hunting big game with a weapon other than a firearm
- Unlawfully hunting a bull or cow moose without an adult moose validation tag
- Failing to properly attach a game seal to a moose
- Trespassing to hunt
- Possessing illegally killed wildlife
- Possessing an over-limit of small game
- Not carrying a hunting licence when hunting
- Fishing without a licence
- Packaging fish so that the species could not be counted or identified
- Failing to stop for a conservation officer
- Making a false statement or obstructing a conservation officer
- Unlawfully depositing material on public lands
- Failing to wear a proper helmet while operating an off-road vehicle
- Having an open container of alcohol in a motorized vehicle
Several investigations into the alleged illegal harvest of moose and abandonment and spoilage of moose are ongoing as a result of the blitz.
To report a natural resources violation, call the MNRF Tips Line at 1-877-847-7667 toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours.
You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
