SHOOTING OF MUTE SWAN RESULTS IN $1,200 FINES
March 26, 2009
A Windsor area hunter who was convicted for illegally hunting migratory game birds has been convicted again following an appeal and new trial. He has been fined $1,200.
Bassil Murra, 40, has been fined $1,000 for unlawfully hunting a migratory game bird during the closed season, and $200 for failing to retrieve a killed migratory bird. He is also banned from possessing a migratory game bird permit for one year.
With assistance from two witnesses and an officer from the Essex Region Conservation Authority, Ministry of Natural Resources' conservation officers retrieved a dead mute swan left floating in the water and established Murra as the hunter responsible.
The court heard that Murra was hunting at Hillman Marsh in the Municipality of Leamington on September 30, 2006 and shot the swan, thinking it was a snow goose.
There are no open seasons for hunting mute swans, or any other swans, in Ontario. All waterfowl hunters must be able to properly identify migratory birds before shooting.
Justice of the Peace Holly DeBacker heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor on March 26, 2009.
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