Public tip and forensics lead to fines for Barrie men

MNR News Release

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Two Barrie area men have been fined a total of $6,500 and have lost their moose hunting privileges for a year after pleading guilty to their roles in illegally hunting a bull moose, abandoning it, and misleading the investigating officers.

Munden Smith, 42, of Innisfil, was fined $5,500, and forfeited his rifle to the Crown after pleading guilty to unlawfully hunting and abandoning a bull moose and making a false statement to a conservation officer. His father, Harry Smith, 62, of Barrie, also pleaded guilty to making a false statement to an officer, and was fined $1,000. Both men are prohibited from holding a moose licence in Ontario for one year.

Court was told that on October 11, 2005, conservation officers received a public tip from a call to the MNR TIPS line concerning a shot and abandoned Bull Moose in a remote location near the Roosevelt forest access road north of Temagami.

A ministry canine unit gathered evidence, and officers subsequently interviewed the defendants at their hunt camp. The two men denied their involvement and misled officers to another camp nearby. After interviewing the men again in May 2006, officers returned to the kill site and recovered additional evidence.

Forensic examination of a seized firearm, along with DNA analysis clearly indicated that the two men had been directly involved with the shooting and transportation of the illegal moose.

Justice of the Peace William Brownell heard this case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Haileybury, on May 24, 2007.

To report a natural resource violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time or contact your ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at
1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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