June 12, 2009
ILLEGAL MOOSE HUNT GARNERS $20,000 IN FINES
After an 18-month investigation and two-day trial, a Sebright man has been fined $12,000 and suspended from hunting for illegal moose hunting.
Clementino Ferreira, 60, was fined $6,000 for illegally hunting a moose and $6,000 for abandoning it and allowing it to spoil. He was also suspended from hunting for five years and forfeited his firearm to the Crown.
Court heard that on January 4, 2007, conservation officers from the Minden area, acting on a complaint from the public, attended a location near Sebright in the City of Kawartha Lakes and found an abandoned moose kill site. The Ministry of Natural Resources used a canine unit, search warrants, DNA and forensic analysis to show that Ferreira and another man were hunting together on December 28, 2006, and shot and killed a moose during the closed season. The pair planned to retrieve the moose from the bush but decided to abandon it and left it to spoil after seeing someone else in the area.
Justice of the Peace Diane Jackson heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Lindsay, on May 22, 2009.
The second man involved was previously fined $8,000, received a five-year hunting licence suspension, and forfeited his firearm to the Crown.
To report a
natural resources violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time
or contact you local ministry office during regular business hours. You can
also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).