THUNDER BAY — A justice of the peace in Thunder Bay has handed down some heavy penalties against a group of moose hunters from the Greater Toronto Area.
Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers laid charges against five men following a special investigation conducted between 2020 and 2022 in a remote location north of Pickle Lake.
They found that a rifle had been discharged from a motorboat at a bull moose on the Otoskwin River, and that another hunter's tag was then attached to the animal.
Three members of the group were charged with making false and misleading statements during the investigation.
One of the accused, Paul Markewycz, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm from a motorboat.
He was fined $20,000 and banned from hunting for three years after the court took into consideration his prior big game hunting violation record.
Miroslaw Markewycz received $2,000 in fines and a two-year hunting licence suspension for unlawfully invalidating a tag with respect to an animal killed by another person.
Piotr Markewycz pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a conservation officer, and received $6,000 in fines plus a one-year licence suspension.
Vitaliy Shevchenko pleaded guilty to the same offence, and received $5,000 in fines and a one-year suspension.
Michael Lamanna was fined $4,000 and received a one-year suspension for the same offence as well.
Justice of the Peace Nancy Tulloch heard the case earlier this month in the Ontario Court of Justice.
In addition to the fines totalling $37,000, the five accused must pay $9,250 in victim surcharges.
Members of the public can report a natural resource problem or provide information about unsolved cases to the MNR's tips line toll-free at 1-877-847-7667, or by calling Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.
