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Two Kapuskasing men have been fined more than $9,000 after being convicted in a case where one man illegally shot a bull moose and the other passed it off as his own.
On October 29, 2018 Alexandre Richard of Kapuskasing shot a cow and small bull moose although he and his hunting party were only licenced to hunt a cow moose. Richard field dressed both moose and contacted Michel Maille, who wasn’t hunting with the group, to come and illegally seal the cow moose. Richard attached his cow seal to the bull moose.
Conservation officers determined that Richard went back to the kill site and removed any trace that one of the animals had been male. Maille admitted that he had misled the investigators by falsely saying he had been hunting with the group at the time.
Maille pleaded guilty in Kapuskasing Provincial Offences Court on March 13, 2019 of making a false statement to a conservation officer, and of attaching his seal to a moose killed by another person. He was fined a total of $1,885.
Richard pleaded guilty in Kapuskasing Provincial Offences Court on June 5, 2019 of hunting a bull moose without a licence and failing to immediately attach his seal to the cow moose and was fined a total of $7,355. He also lost his hunting privileges for one year. Both moose were forfeited to the Crown.
In addition to conservation officers from Hearst, the canine team was called from Timmins to assist with this investigation and samples of blood, hair and tissue were sent to the Centre for Forensic Sciences for DNA analysis.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry wants to remind all hunters to be sure they harvest only what they are allowed.
Ministry conservation officers work tirelessly to help make sure we can all enjoy Ontario’s natural resources in a safe and respectful manner. To report a natural resource violation, or report that you’ve harvested an animal that you don’t have a tag for, call the MNRF TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 toll-free anytime, or contact your local MNRF office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
We need your help to solve cases. Please visit Ontario.ca/mnrftips to view an interactive, searchable map of unsolved cases. You may have valuable information that can help.
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