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$37K in fines and multi-year licence suspensions for hunting violations in Northern Manitoba

A lodge operator and guide from Manitoba as well as a unlicensed guide from Alberta received fines of $2,000 to $25,000 and two- to five-year licence suspensions after pleading guilty to hunting infractions uncovered by Manitoba conservation officers

A lodge operator and guide from Manitoba as well as a unlicensed guide from Alberta received fines of $2,000 to $25,000 and two- to five-year licence suspensions after pleading guilty to hunting infractions uncovered by Manitoba conservation officers.

Dustan George Budd pleaded guilty to possessing illegally taken wildlife and failing to report the killing of a wild animal in defence of property last October and was given a $25,000 fine and a two-year hunting suspension. Dustin Quinn Alexander pleaded guilty to possessing illegally taken wildlife and was fined $2,000 and suspended from hunting for two years. On June 27, Adrian Michael Warden of Alberta pleaded guilty to two counts each of guiding and hunting without a licence and three counts each of hunting out of season and possessing illegally taken wildlife. He was fined $10,000 and received a five-year hunting suspension.

The infractions were uncovered through a multi-jurisdictional investigation by Manitoba, Alberta and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which determined that American, Albertan and Manitoban hunters had been hunting illegally in Manitoba and using licences, documents and tags to cover up these activities.

The investigation began with a conservation officer examining records from Budd’s Gunisao Lake Lodge, located east of Norway House, which showed that American hunters had bought foreign resident black bear licences but had been guided by a guide with an expired licence in 2015. These records turned out not be accurate, as the hunters had actually been guided by an unlicensed guide from Alberta. Stories regarding the hunt had discrepancies, including that the lodge owner had shot a bear in defence of his property, and it was also discovered that another employee of the lodge illegally obtained a licence, which was then used to cover up the killing of another bear by the unlicensed Alberta guide.

During the course of the investigation, three bear hides and a skull were also seized.

Manitoba Sustainable Development encourages anyone with information about illegal activities to call their local office or the Turn in Poachers (TIP) line at 1-800-782-0076.

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