Poacher caught with 438 pounds of moose meat, bear parts fined $15,000, jailed 7 days

A poacher caught with 438 pounds of illegal moose and bear meat and five bones from bear penises was fined $15,000 when he appeared in Edmundston court Wednesday.

He was also sentenced toseven days in jail, to be served on weekends, and was ordered to pay a $3,000 victim surcharge.

Daniel Dyer, in his mid-50s, pleaded guilty in December 2016 to charges under the Fish and Wildlife Act ofillegal possession of animal parts, illegal hunting, hunting moose without a licence and unlawfully offering to purchase hunting rights.

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The Plaster Rock man, who owns Lawrence Dyer and Sons Outfitters, originally faced more than 60 charges after a joint investigation by wildlife officers in New Brunswick and the United States. Most were dropped when Dyer entered his guilty pleas.

Items seized from Dyer in 2015 included: 438 pound of moose and bear meat, 378 bear gallbladders, an alligator head and five bear bacula, which he displayed on a board. Officers also seized one walrus penis and a variety of deer and moose parts, including heads and partial carcasses.

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Initially, the Crown prosecutor said illegal items were seized fromsix Canadians and two U.S. citizens, who were all arrested in January 2015. Charges against Dyer's wife, Kimberly, and son, Christopher Dyer, were later stayed.

Dyer was given two and a half years to pay his fine. He also forfeited the coolers used to keep the bear gall bladders.