A Yukon hunter convicted of wasting moose meat has received a seven-year hunting ban and a $3,000 fine for violating a court order.
Edward Bernier pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining a hunting licence after a judge prohibited him in May 2013 from hunting until May 2017 or until he'd paid more than $8,000 in fines.
Bernier was also convicted of failing to affix a seal to the moose.
On Tuesday, Crown lawyer Lee Kirkpatrick told Territorial Court that conservation officers received information that Bernier had obtained hunting licences in April 2014 and 2015.
There is no indication he hunted under those licences, she said.
When questioned by conservation officers, Bernier refused to provide a statement.
Later, he admitted to obtaining them "out of spite," Kirkpatrick told the court.
She and defence lawyer Nicholas Weigelt made a joint submission requesting a $3,000 fine and a seven-year hunting prohibition.
The fine will be given as a contribution to the Turn In Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line.
Bernier misunderstood the terms of the order, Weigelt told the court. He believed he was prohibited from hunting, not having a hunting licence.
Kirkpatrick took issue with Bernier's offence characterized as a "misapprehension."
"This has very little bearing in what the sentence will be," Justice of the Peace Morrison-Harvey said in his ruling.
During the first five years of the seven-year ban, Bernier will also be prohibited from accompanying any hunter or any person "armed in the field."
"It was quite concerning that an individual who had been previously convicted and received a hunting prohibition, to turn around and continue to get licences," Ryan Hennings, manager of enforcement and compliance with the conservation officer services branch, said after the hearing.
"It's something we take very seriously, and I'm sure the Yukon public takes very seriously."
The Crown dropped four other Wildlife Act charges against Bernier, including two counts each of providing false information and failing to disclose material for the April 2014 and 2015 offences.
The previous conviction stems from a Sept. 22, 2012 hunting trip during which Bernier and a friend shot and killed a moose behind an abandoned lead-zinc mine in Faro.
The moose was abandoned, and a witness contacted conservation officers.
Conservation officers found the moose partially buried by a grizzly bear, Judge Cozens noted at the time.
"Mr. Bernier is an experienced hunter, and a Yukon resident who certainly knew better than to act the way he did with respect to this moose," Cozens said in his 2013 ruling. (Whitehorse Star)
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