Southern Ont. pair fined $10,500 for moose hunt violations in northern Ont.

A hunter from Amherstburg and another from Guelph have been fined at total of $10,500 for moose-hunting violations dating to 2022.

Sebastiano Guarnaccia of Amherstburg pleaded guilty to possessing illegally killed wildlife, making a false statement to a conservation officer and unlawfully using a vehicle to pursue wildlife. He was fined $8,000 and had his hunting licence suspended for one year.

Nelson Camara of Guelph pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a conservation officer and was fined $2,500.

The fines date to Sept. 17, 2022, when a tip from the public led conservation officers and the Ontario Provincial Police to investigate reports of a moose shot early that morning.

“Shots were heard before legal hunting light in the vicinity of the Pikitigushi Road, east of the community of Armstrong,” the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said in a news release Friday.

“The investigation determined that a bull moose was shot on the Pikitigushi Road in the dark from a moving vehicle. The moose was transported back to a hunt camp nearby.”

The investigation also revealed that Guarnaccia was driving the truck at the time the moose was shot from its cab. He later placed his tag on the moose and provided false information to the conservation officer investigating.

The court also heard that Camara gave false information to a conservation officer by claiming he was the one who shot the moose.

Justice of the Peace Bernard Caron heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice in Thunder Bay on April 3 of this year.

To report a natural resource problem or provide information about an unsolved case, members of the public can call the ministry TIPS line toll-free at 1-877-847-7667. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS. For more information about unsolved cases, click here.

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