A Sioux Narrows man pleaded guilty to careless hunting and failing to wear hunter orange after he shot down a roadway at a deer decoy placed by the side of the road by conservation officers.
On December 1, 2018, conservation officers from Kenora conducted a deer decoy operation on a main forest access road from Highway 71 north of Sioux Narrows. It is heavily used for both commercial and public travel and there are many complaints about unsafe hunting in this area.
Conservation officers planned and controlled the operation so there would only be one vehicle in the area at a time. During the operation, a man stopped his truck, got out and discharged his high-calibre rifle down the road at a deer decoy.
On November 6, 2019, Justice of the Peace Jennifer A. Neill fined Jess Swenson $7,500 for careless hunting and $300 for failing to wear hunter orange. He received a six-month hunting licence suspension for the careless hunting conviction. He will also need to retake the Ontario Hunter Education Program and pass the test before being eligible to buy another hunting licence.
