MNR enforcement blitz leads to hundreds of charges

MNR News Release

********************

Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers laid almost 300 charges and seized illegally harvested animals, including 39 moose, during an enforcement blitz in the northeast.

The targeted area extended from the Hudson Bay and James Bay coasts in the north, to the French and Mattawa rivers in the south, and from the Ontario-Quebec border in the east to Lake Superior and Manitouwadge in the west.

From October 8 to 22, 2011, conservation officers checked more than 6,700 hunters and uncovered 528 violations leading to 291 charges and 237 warnings. The blitz coincided with the opening of the regular gun season for moose in much of the region.

Charges were laid for a range of offences, including:

· having loaded firearms in vehicles and boats

· unlawful possession of firearms at night

· hunting without a licence

· trespassing to hunt

· hunting without validation tags and unlawful hunting of moose, and

· careless hunting.

Special emphasis was placed on regulations pertaining to safe hunting practices, including wearing hunter orange. Some hunters were found wearing an inadequate amount of orange or none at all. In addition, hunters were found to have loaded firearms in motor vehicles or to have discharged firearms in or across roadways, which are safety concerns. Incidents of using a firearm at night were also reported.

For more information on hunting regulations, please consult the 2011 Hunting Regulations Summary available from licence issuers, ServiceOntario/Government Information Centres and on the ministry’s website at ontario.ca/hunting.

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

********************