A Manitoba hunter who was found guilty of unlawful hunting on private land in Saskatchewan had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Kristjan Pierone, a Treaty 5 First Nations man, was charged after shooting a bull moose in a slough near Swift Current in September 2015.
Pierone had not been given consent to hunt on the land, which is Treaty 4 territory, and argued no signs were posted and it appeared the land had not been cultivated in years.
A prosecutor argued Pierone did not have a right to hunt on Treaty 4 land.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal said in an April 27 ruling the Crown had failed to prove the land was in use, or incompatible for hunting.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) said the ruling affirms their inherent rights to hunt.
“This decision affirms that the First Nations have a prior right of access to the wildlife of the province as part of our inherent and treaty rights,” FSIN vice-chief Heather Bear said in a statement.
“This is an important issue and we will follow up with Minister of Environment.”
–With files from The Canadian Press