Two men from Stoney Creek, Ont., recently pleaded guilty to illegal deer hunting several years ago in the Minden area.
In court in Lindsay, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry outlined an incident on Nov. 14, 2018, during which conservation officers investigated reports that a deer had been shot on private property along Duck Lake Road near the town of Minden.
The extensive investigation determined two men were travelling together in a pickup truck along the road when one of them exited the vehicle and shot a white-tailed deer on land that was posted as private property.
The men then accessed the property to retrieve the animal, the court heard.
The investigation involved a conservation officer canine unit, the OPP’s forensic identification services and Trent University’s wildlife DNA forensics lab, the ministry stated.
The ministry says on May 24, Luigi Centurami pleaded guilty to trespassing and possessing unlawfully killed wildlife. He was fined $6,000.
Steve Tsiliganos pleaded guilty to trespassing, possessing a loaded firearm within eight metres of a roadway and possessing illegally killed wildlife. He was fined $4,000.