Hunter fined $8K for killing moose, allowing it to spoil in northern Ont.

A southern Ontario man who shot two cow moose during a hunt last year and left one to spoil has been fined $8,000.

Marc Wiercigroch of Ayton pleaded guilty to hunting a cow moose without a licence and abandoning the moose, allowing the meat to spoil.

In addition to the fine, he had his hunting licence suspended for one year and was required to re-attend the Ontario Hunter Education Program.

The court heard that on Oct. 17, 2022, a conservation officer inspected a moose hunting group returning to southern Ontario in possession of a cow moose and several unfilled tags on the third day of the moose season.

“Shortly after contacting the hunting group, the officer received information that a cow moose had been shot and abandoned in the vicinity of Eayrs Lake, northwest of Thunder Bay,” the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) said in a news release Friday.

“Through the assistance of other hunters, the officer was able to determine Wiercigroch was hunting in the immediate area of the abandoned cow moose.”

A search warrant was issued for his home in Ayton. Officers then learned that Wiercigroch had been hunting for moose near Eayrs Lake and had mistakenly shot two cow moose when his group had a tag allowing them to harvest one cow moose.

“Rather than reporting his mistake to conservation officers, Wiercigroch and his hunting party fled the area, allowing the moose to spoil,” the MNRF said.

He was convicted Sept, 6 by Justice of the Peace Nancy Tulloch, who heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice in Thunder Bay.

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