Manitoba hunters fined, suspended for violating Sask. Wildlife Act

Two Manitoba men have been fined a total of nearly $14,000 and handed two-year hunting suspensions for violations of Saskatchewan’s Wildlife Act.

In a media release Thursday, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment said the men – Maurice Sala of East Selkirk and Curtis Thunder of Buffalo Point – pleaded guilty in Swift Current Provincial Court on Nov. 29.

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According to the release, the incident happened Nov. 12, 2022, when Shaunavon conservation officers got a tip – including a vehicle description – about Manitoba residents unlawfully hunting near Cadillac, about 65 kilometres south of Swift Current.

The officers who responded found a mule deer buck that had been shot and left to waste.

Officers from Shaunavon, Assiniboia, Moose Jaw and Regina soon found the suspect vehicle pulling an enclosed trailer on Highway 13 west of Assiniboia.

“Officers found the three vehicle occupants in possession of numerous wildlife, despite having no provincial hunting licences,” the release said. “Officers arrested all three individuals and seized the trailer, along with the wildlife, hunting equipment and cellphones.

“Using DNA, conservation officers were also able to link the three individuals to the wasted mule deer discovered earlier.”

All three were charged, but the third individual died before the matter was concluded in court.

Sala was fined $10,960 after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of wildlife, unlawful export of wildlife, and wasting wildlife. Thunder pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of wildlife, unlawful hunting, and driving off of trails in a former PFRA pasture, and was fined $3,020.

Anyone who sees wildlife, fisheries, forestry or environmental violations is urged to call Saskatchewan’s Turn In Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line at 1-800-667-7561 or online at saskatchewan.ca/tipp. Cash rewards from the SaskTIP Reward Program are available.