Trio fined for bear hunting violations in Peterborough County
https://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/news-story/8328734-trio-fined-for-bear-hunting-violations-in-peterborough-county/
Three Peterborough County men were fined a total of $8,500 last Thursday in Ontario Court of Justice in Peterborough for offences under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.
Mitchell Klompmaker pleaded guilty to four charges and was fined $2,000 by Justice of the Peace Jason Mariasine for hunting bear without a licence, $1,000 for using another person's licence, $1,500 for possessing another person's bear seal and $500 for transporting a black bear that was unlawfully killed.
In addition to the fines, his rifle and ammunition were seized and were permanently forfeited to the Crown. The bear was also donated to a local charity, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
Christopher Klompmaker pleaded guilty to allowing someone else to use his bear licence and was fined $1,000.
Nicholas Lachapelle pleaded guilty to two charges and was fined $1,000 for using another person's licence and $1,500 for possessing another person's bear seal.
On Nov. 13, a conservation officer encountered three men hunting deer in the former Belmont Township, court heard. Upon inspection Mitchell Klompmaker was found to have a black bear tied to the back of his off-road vehicle. Christopher Klompmaker claimed to have shot and tagged the bear.
Further investigation determined that only Mitchell Klompmaker and Nicholas Lachapelle had been hunting together and Mitchell Klompmaker shot the bear from his tree stand illegally.
He did not possess a valid bear licence and contacted Christopher Klompmaker asking him to bring his licence and bear seal to the hunting location, court heard. Lachapelle met Christopher Klompmaker at the parking area near the hunting location and took Christopher's bear licence and seal, and returned to the kill site to give it to Mitchell Klompmaker.
Mitchell Klompmaker then attached the game seal to the bear and transported it by an off-road vehicle to the parking area where they were encountered by the conservation officer.
The ministry's canine unit helped to locate the kill site and spent casings from the rifle used by Mitchell Klompmaker to kill the bear, a release from the ministry states.
