A Kenora man was found guilty of careless hunting and shooting from a vehicle after he shot four times at a deer decoy placed by conservation officers.
Last December, conservation officers from the Kenora enforcement unit conducted a deer decoy operation on Maybrun Road, which is a main forest access road from Highway 71 north of Sioux Narrows and is heavily used for both commercial and public travel.
There have been many complaints about unsafe hunting in this area, including complaints about individuals placing bait to lure deer onto the road according to an MNRF release.
Two weeks ago before Justice of the Peace Bruce Leaman at the Ontario Court of Justice in Kenora, Roberto Valentini pleaded guilty to:
- using a firearm carelessly to hunt,
- unlawfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and
- unlawfully having a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
He was fined a total of $4,500 for the three offences. He also had his hunting licence suspended for two years and will have to retake the Ontario Hunter Education Program to reapply for any future licences.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry conservation officers say that unsafe hunting practices like shooting on or across a road and having loaded firearms in vehicles pose a serious threat to the public and other hunters.
