Manitobans convicted of illegal hunting offences

Manitoba Sustainable Development has wrapped up a pair of investigations into illegal hunting.

Conservation officers said a man was convicted of night hunting with lights, chasing game from a vehicle, and hunting on private land without permission in connection to an elk hunt near Carberry two years ago.

The incident was recorded on video and sent to officials, who identified the man as Keifer Joseph Spence.

Spence was fined $3,000, lost his hunting license, and had his 2001 Chevrolet Silverado and hunting gear seized.

Craig Gerstmar with the Manitoba Conservation Officers Service told 680 CJOB the ban on night hunting with lights is a safety issue.

“If they’re going out there, they’re shining lights and they’re shooting at deer, they don’t really know where the backstop is where they’re shooting at,” he said.

“So that becomes a major issue for us because it’s unsafe.

“We have had a couple of individuals who have been night-lighting who have shot other individuals in their party, which is a tragedy. It shouldn’t be happening.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We have had a couple of individuals who have been night-lighting who have shot other individuals in their party, which is a tragedy. It shouldn't be happening."

Another Manitoba man was found guilty of possessing illegally taken wildlife after conservation officers found a pair dead moose near Bissett a year-and-a-half ago.

The area is under a ‘moose closure’ to protect declining populations.

Paul Robert Tytgat, of Winnipeg, plead guilty and was fined $1,800. He has also been suspended from hunting big game and birds for two years, and will be required to pay a further $11,000 in restitution to the Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Fund.

A second person was also identified, but charges were stayed.

Gerstmar said the animals were given to local First Nations communities.

“We’ll try to take that animal while it’s still in a good state, and we’ll give it to individuals,” he said.

“We’ll divvy that up in the community to people who can utilize it so it’s not being wasted.”

1:36 Manitoba Metis Federation accuses conservation officers of forgery in night hunting investigation