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Kirkland Lake hunter fined for killing a bull moose without valid tag

MNR News Release ****************** A Kirkland Lake hunter has been fined a total of $3,500 for shooting and killing a bull moose without a validation tag and allowing the moose meat to spoil.
Kate Adams
MNR News Release

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A Kirkland Lake hunter has been fined a total of $3,500 for shooting and killing a bull moose without a validation tag and allowing the moose meat to spoil.

Jonathan Lavergne pleaded guilty to both charges and was fined $1,500 for shooting and killing a bull moose without the proper adult validation tag and $2,000 for allowing the meat to spoil. He was banned from hunting and from having hunting equipment in or near a hunting area for two years. The firearm seized from Lavergne will be returned when the fines are paid.

The court heard that on October 8, 2011, Lavergne and his hunting party were hunting in Wildlife Management Unit 29 in Sheba Township, west of the Watabeag Lake Road. Early that morning, Lavergne saw a moose, which he mistakenly identified as a calf. Lavergne shot the moose, fatally wounding it. The moose was a bull moose with visible antlers. Neither Lavergne nor any other member of the hunting party had a valid adult tag for the moose. The group then gutted, quartered and loaded the bull moose into Lavergne’s truck and took it to Kirkland Lake later that day. Lavergne allowed the moose meat to spoil and then left the meat in a forested area east of Kirkland Lake.

Justice of the Peace Theodore Hodgins heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Kirkland Lake, on March 6, 2012.

All moose hunters must be able to determine whether a moose is a cow, a bull or a calf before shooting it. Test your skills with the online moose identification training guide.

For further information on hunting regulations, please consult the 2011-2012 Hunting Regulations Summary, available at ServiceOntario/Government Information Centres, from licence issuers and 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).

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