A man from the Village of Arran, recently pleaded guilty in a Kamsack courtroom to violations under The Wildlife Act and The Wildlife Regulations and received $3,300 in fines and a three-year hunting suspension.
During a routine inspection of a butcher shop in October 2018, ministry of environment conservation officers from Duck Mountain found a discrepancy regarding an elk that had been brought in for butchering, said a release. After investigating, officers determined that an elk was shot on September 2, with the hunter purchasing the licence that same morning at 7:59 a.m.
During the investigation, it was determined that the individual who purchased the licence did not shoot the elk. Another hunter had shot the elk and asked the individual to purchase a licence to tag the animal.
Gerald Freese, 58, was charged and convicted with unlawful possession of wildlife, using another person’s licence and failing to attach a seal to big game. The individual who purchased the licence was also charged, but those charges were dropped by the Crown after Freese agreed to plead guilty.
Freese was previously charged and convicted in 2007 for unlawfully hunting elk, as well as in 2017 for unlawfully hunting a bull moose.
If you suspect wildlife, fisheries, forestry or environmental violations, please call your local Ministry of Environment office, Saskatchewan’s toll-free Turn in Poachers and Polluters line at 1-800-667-7561 or #5555 for SaskTel cellular subscribers, or report a violation online at www.saskatchewan.ca/tip.
You may be eligible for cash rewards from the SaskTip Reward Program. Callers may wish to remain anonymous.
