GORE BAY—A Sudbury man has been fined for having harvesting an eight-point buck during the annual deer gun hunt on Manitoulin Island from property he was trespassing on.
“Trespassing to shoot a deer on private property on Manitoulin Island is a serious type of offence,” stated Dan Williams, acting provincial prosecutor in the Northeast region enforcement are with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) in Gore Bay court last week.
Mr. Williams told the court and Justice Darlene Hayden that Howard Morrison had agreed to plead guilty to the charge of unlawfully hunting big game, namely deer, on property he did not have landowner permission to hunt on.
Court heard Mr. Williams explain that on November 18, 2015, conservation officers (COs) with the MNRF responded to an incident in Burpee-Mills township municipality in Wildlife Management Unit (43A). Hunters must have landowner permission to hunt on private lands and on the same date a Burpee-Mills resident reported to the MNRF that at 2:30 pm he discovered a deer that had been illegally shot on his family property. A harvested deer that was still fresh had been found on concession two, lot 30 in Evansville. As well, a deer tag-game seal with Howard Morrison’s name was on it. The COs investigated and asked Mr. Morrison if he was responsible for the harvesting of this deer. Mr. Morrison confirmed he had shot the deer and said it had been harvested on property he had permission to hunt on.
However, Mr. Williams explained after further investigation by the COs they uncovered that Mr. Morrison did not have permission to hunt on the property in question. Investigation revealed that he had shot the deer at 8 am and the animal had been harvested 294 metres off the property he had been given permission to hunt on. Along with the deer, Mr. Morrison’s firearm had been seized by the COs.
Mr. Morrison did have a legal hunting licence, but had trespassed on property he did not have permission to hunt on, to harvest the deer.
“As is the case in all similar cases, laws and regulations have to be followed,” said Mr. Williams. He pointed out the hunting party Mr. Morrison hunted with has been hunting on the same property for about 35 years.
“In this case a deer died that shouldn’t have,” said Mr. Williams. He said fines in similar cases run around $1,000 to $1,500.
Court imposed a $1,000 fine for Mr. Morrison. The deer had been confiscated at the time of the offence and Mr. Morrison’s firearm will be returned once he has paid off the entire fine.
