A Saskatchewan man has been handed a lifetime hunting ban after pleading guilty to running an illegal outfitting operation.
Ministry of Environment conservation officers started an investigation into Steven Bullock, 36, in March 2016 after becoming aware of a possible illegal outfitting company called In The Stix Bear Camp.
Officers said he had been advertising bear hunts on social media since 2015 and an inactive camp in northern Saskatchewan was being used as a front for the operation.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources became involved in the investigation in the fall of 2016 after an American client was provided outfitting services to hunt black bears along the North Saskatchewan River near Langham and fish at Blackstrap Lake.
Bullock, who is from Langham, was charged with outfitting and advertising without a licence, exceeding fish possession limits, breaching a 10 year firearms prohibition order, possession of a firearm without a possession acquisition licence and falsifying hunting/outfitting licenses.
He pleaded guilty in Saskatoon provincial court to seven charges and was fined $16,080.
Bullock was also handed a lifetime ban from applying or obtaining a big game licence, game bird licence or fur licence.
He is also banned from owning or possessing a firearm or ammunition for three years, must contact a conservation officer prior to accompanying anyone on a hunt and abide by the conditions of his probation and conditional sentence orders.
Environment Ministry officials said anyone charged and convicted of a suspendable wildlife infraction on three separate occasions automatically receives a lifetime hunting suspension.
Bullock pleaded guilty in October 2016 to illegally hunting moose in the Langham area in November 2014.
Along with receiving a fine of $5,600, he was given a four-year hunting suspension.
There is no information available on his third offence.
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