Manitoba poachers busted for illegal kills, province says

Three men are facing charges formoose poaching-related offences after a three-year-long investigation in eastern Manitoba, the province says.

Manitoba Conservation said the illegal harvesting happened on the east side of Lake Winnipeg in Game Hunting Area (GHA) 26, an area partially closed to huntingdue to an unstable moose population.

Conservation officers learned that non-status hunters were allegedly huntingmoose in the area and trying to get status Indiansto cover for them by taking credit for the kills.

Status Indians have broader rights to hunt game under existingtreaties and the CanadianConstitution.

"This type of behaviour is reallyappalling,"Conservation Minister TomNevakshonoff said. "I'm just beside myself when I see this kind of behaviour."

Jack Harrigan, manager of compliance and field serviceswith Manitoba Conservation, said he's happy investigators managed to nab the suspects.

Four moose were taken illegally in this instance, the province said.

Harriganaddedwhile non-status hunters do try tosolicitstatus Indians to help them hide illegally harvested meat ocassionally, it isn't common.

"I don't think it happens a lot or as much as people think,"he said.

Long list of charges

The suspects in this case a44-year-old man from the Rural Municipality St. Clements, and a65-year-oldman and 74-year-old man fromManigotagan are facingstring of offences.

The 65-year-old is facing the following nine charges:

• Three counts of counseling to make a false statement in application for a licence
• Possession of moose parts killed in a conservation closure area
• Hunting wildlife at night
• Using a light (spotlighting) to hunt
• Hunting usingelectronically recorded audio of an animal
• Transportation of a loaded gun in a vehicle
• Possession of wildlife parts taken illegally

The 44-year-old is facing three counts of hunting or taking an animal from aprotected area. He's also facing charges forcarrying a loaded gun in a vehicle and possessing wildlife parts killed illegally.

Meanwhile, the 74-year-old is facing charges for hunting moose in a conservation closure area, possessing moose parts killed in such an area and possessing wildlife parts obtained illegally.

Hunting in protected area

GHA 26, as well GHA17 just north of it, haveseen a decline in moose populations in recent years.

Minister Nevakshonoff said a few years ago, the province and First Nations in the areareached an agreement to voluntarilyclose moose hunting in parts of the zones for both non-status and status Indian hunters.

"These gamepopulations are very important to me.I'm a hunter myself and a lot of our populations are in stress because of over hunting."

The closure has been helping the moose population rebound,Nevakshonoffsaid.Despite the restrictions, the three-year investigation shows illegal harvesting is still going on,headded.

"I'm very proud of our staff for accomplishing this,"Nevakshonoff said. "I hope this sends a serious message to poachers out there that this kind of behaviour isn't socially acceptable in any way, shape or form."

Another problematic and "inherently dangerous" element at the centre of the investigation is that somepoaching may have gone on in the dark.

"There have been fatalities as a result of [night hunting] and it does put our game populations in a highly vulnerable situation,"Nevakshonoffsaid.

"If we're going to actually manage these game populations and see them flourish into the future, then we have to have a discussion about this. "

Manitoba Conservation has been carrying out undercover anti-poaching operations for 15 years. Despite their best efforts, Harrigan addsit isn't always easy to pin an illegal harvesting crime on a poacher.

"It's integral to any enforcement operation because as you can guess, many of the public won't share information that they know directly could be used as evidence," he said. "You have to get right down in the dirt and see what you can find out."

Anyone with information about illegal hunting activity is asked to contactManitoba Conservation or call the Turn in Poachers line at 1-800-782-0076.