An Ayton man has plead guilty to hunting a cow moose without a license and abandoning the moose allowing the meat to spoil while hunting near Thunder Bay.
He was given an $8000 fine, had his hunting license suspended for one year and will be required to re-attend the Ontario Hunter Education Program.
The court heard on October 17th 2022, a conservation officer inspected a moose hint group returning from Southern Ontario in possession of cow moose and several unfilled tags on the third day of the moose season.
Shortly after contacting the group, the officer learned of a cow moose had been shot and abandoned near Eayrs Lake, northwest of Thunder Bay.
Through the assistance of other hunters, the officer was able to determine it was the West Grey man who was hunting in the area of the abandoned moose.
The investigation led to a search warrant being executed at a residence in Ayton where officers learned that he had been hunting for moose near Eayrs Lake and had mistakenly shot two cow moose when his group had a tag allowing them to harvest one cow moose.
Rather than reporting his mistake to conservation officers, the man and his hunting party fled the area, allowing the moose to spoil.
