Two West Grey men have plead guilty to deer hunting violations that led to over $8,000 in combined fines.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, in December of last year, a conservation officer saw two men exiting a rural property, John Bak who claimed to shoot an antlerless deer with a muzzleloading gun and another Doug Bell who denied hunting entirely.
After investigating the kill site of the deer and discovering a loaded centerfire rifle in a blind nearby, the officer determined that Bell had been the only one taking part, despite not being licenced to hunt antlerless deer or possess firearms. After killing the deer, Bell contacted Bak to assist with covering up the illegal hunt.
Bell pleaded guilty to hunting deer without a licence, hunting deer with a center-fire rifle out of season and gun hunting without the proper firearms licencing accreditation. He was fined $6,000 and is suspended from hunting antlerless deer for two years.
Bak pleaded guilty to claiming a kill by another hunter and providing a false statement to a conservation officer. He was fined $2,500 and is also suspended from hunting antlerless deer for two years.
Both cases were heard separately in Owen Sound court this spring.
