Fines in Douglas Channel Deer Harassment

[Steve W]

From CO Facebook Page

CONVICTION - $13,151 in FINES
2 males were recently convicted of several BC Wildlife Act offences after charges were laid by Skeena region Conservation Officers. The charges follow a COS investigation into an incident that occurred in Douglas Channel near Kitimat BC. On May 14th, 2015 a group of fishermen encountered a deer swimming in the Channel. The vessel operator brought the boat along-side the deer preventing it from getting to shore. A passenger in the vessel then stabbed the deer in the neck with a gaff hook in an attempt to capture it and bring it on board. The gaff hook broke in half and the deer was able to swim to a nearby island where it disappeared into the forest with the gaff hook in its neck.
Andreas HANDL was convicted of harass wildlife with a motor vehicle or device and hunting big game which is swimming contrary to the BC Wildlife Act. He was fined $1150 and ordered to pay $7,000 to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.
Martins LOPES was convicted of harass wildlife with a motor vehicle or device contrary to the BC Wildlife Act. He was fined $1 and ordered to pay $5,000 to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.
Both men were also ordered not to approach big game for 2 years

[Ry151]

Got off pretty easy in my opinion.

[Xenomorph]

So these guys get 13k in fines and 2y suspension but the ones that shot the buck on private land got 1200 in fines :)?

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Good grief! What the fak could those meatheads have possibly been thinking? What were they going to do if they got it aboard? Bonk it with a fish bonker? They should dump these guys in the water with a PETA boat between them and shore.

[Gateholio]

Gaffing a deer? That's serial killer shit.

[scoutlt1]

Who the hell would even think to do that?!?!?

F***ing brutal!

[Xenomorph]

Gaffing a deer? That's serial killer shit.

No kidding. The dumb crap you hear about these days. I'm pretty sure it happened in the past too, but with the news flying like there's no tomorrow nowadays :) ...lot of DAFUQ! moments

[Coachman]

A couple AHoles in a boat, mux in beer and a competition to see who can be the biggest moron, and ANYTHING can happen. Pretty slack penalty for something so ignorant.

[Max Ranger]

I was working in Kitimat where this incident occured. I also worked with the people involved. This was a scandal of
epic scale. The fines levied on the 2 convicted individuals are only the tip of the iceberg! There was a party of approx.
6 people on board the boat when this happened. It was a charter fishing trip. The 2 people charged and convicted were
the charter boat owner/operator and a client who was also a superintendant on the job and, as such, the boss of all the
other people on board. The details of this incident came to light as a result of a co-worker of mine filming it with his
Iphone-as did others on board. The video was posted on facebook and within 24 hours all hell broke loose ! The r.c.m.p., Fed Fisheries, and Prov. Fish & Game wardens came on the construction site, detained and questioned all
the people on the boat. My co-worker who posted the video on Facebook had his Iphone, and personal computer
seized and scanned for evidence. He was also forbidden from re-entering his room in the construction camp until it
was thoroughly searched for evidence. There were approx.2000 construction workers on this project and within 72 hrs. every one had heard about this incident! Not to mention half the population of the town (city) of Kitimat!
Believe me - the people involved payed a very heavy price for their stupidity and their indiscretion. All the people
on the boat that day were confronted, berated, insulted, rediculed and in some cases- threatened by others on the
job site. The fact that the people involved, except for the charter boat owner,were non-residents of B.C. only fueled
the indignation among all who heard about it. I can recall all but 2 of the people involved leaving their jobs at the site and not returning back to work. I should mention that these were high-wage construction jobs so the ones who
left due to embarassment and humiliation also took a significant financial hit even though they were not criminally
charged. Why these people committed such a cruel, stupid act as they did is beyond my comprehension but they
all payed a severe karma debt as a result of it. The video evidence they posted of themselves committing the crime
proved their guilt before the matter even went to court.

[Bugle M In]

Brutal as stated....
Now since there is a conviction, anybody got pictures of them to post.:-P
As to why one conviction gets this type of penalty and another gets a different penalty...not sure.
Although, this case has darker side to it I suppose than the one on private land....
Different judge, different lawyers....

[randymac]

https://www.facebook.com/andreas.handl

[scott h]

Thanks for the background information Max Ranger. Sounds like it was a major learning experience for a lot of people around the job site and in the Kitimat/Terrace area. Sometimes the public shaming and related are a better deterrent than the actual fines although I do like seeing money going to the HTCF.