DNA helps nab U.S. man for poaching in Sask.

It's a case that should serve as a deterrent for hunters who operate outside the law, if you poach wildlife; the Government of Saskatchewan will go to great lengths to catch you.

It took years, but the province today announced it has fined North Battleford outfitters and American hunters more than $24,000.

One case dates back to 2013, when conservation officers collected DNA samples from a bull moose poached on private land.

Investigators were able to cross reference that sample with moose antlers seized in West Virginia. A lab confirmed the match.

Daniel Shriver, 71, from West Virginia pleaded guilty to hunting charges and to providing false information to wildlife officers. In Shriver's case, the antlers were exported under the false claim the animal was killed on First Nations land.

The outfitter, 37-year-old Stewart Baptiste from Cando, pleaded guilty to not having a licence, and providing false information to a wildlife officer.

Baptiste was also caught guiding without a licence in another unrelated case.

Separate case also involves U.S. hunter

Officials are also reporting today a guilty plea in a 2016 case involving an American hunter that did not follow the rules in Saskatchewan.

In this case Brent Zeis, 30, from North Dakota was fined for illegal hunting and for being in a vehicle with a loaded weapon.

The outfitter in that case is from Kamsack. George Keewatin was fined for unlawful guiding.