Now this is what BC should be doing with frickin poachers

[35 Whelen]

I have to applaud the Alberta fish and game and the Alberta courts for such a great penalty for poaching. Wake up B.C. it's time to start hammering them the same way !!!!!

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Edmonton+poachers+fined/7511564/story.html

[coach]

That's good news. It would be nice to see poachers treated this way in BC.

[Wild one]

You will also see a lot more CO's in Alberta as well. BC needs to follow the example with both more enforcement and higher penalties

[The Dude]

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/7421907.bin

An elk enjoys a meal of long grass in Jasper National Park on Oct. 15, 2012.Photograph by: John Lucas , Edmonton Journal


EDMONTON - An Edmonton man and woman have been fined $100,000 and banned from any hunting related activities for 25 years after pleading guilty to poaching charges.Kristopher Brophy, 35, and Michelle Haseloh, 25, pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Stony Plain courtroom to numerous charges under the Wildlife Act.
Brophy was fined $80,000 and Haseloh was fined $20,000. Brophy was also ordered to forfeit his Hummer vehicle because it had been used in the poaching crimes, said Brendan Cox, a spokesman for Alberta Justice.
Brophy and Haseloh were involved in the poaching and trafficking of elk, deer and moose.
They also pleaded guilty to hunting at night, firing at animals from a motor vehicle, hunting out of season and wasting edible meat, Cox said.
“These two aren’t your typical hunters, they are poachers,” Cox said.
Fish and wildlife officers in the major investigations and intelligence unit launched a lengthy and targeted investigation after numerous complaints about illegal hunting in 2010 and 2011.
The investigation covered a wide area of Alberta including Athabasca, Barrhead, Drayton Valley, Edmonton, Evansburg, Stony Plain, Spirit River, Valleyview, Vegreville and Wetaskiwin.
“That’s a lot. It means they’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Martin Sharren, executive vice-president for the Alberta Fish and Game Association.
He said the penalty was “a step in the right direction” but should be higher.
“The penalty has to make an impact. A message has to be sent,” he said. “Wildlife belongs to everybody.”
In other jurisdictions, the couple would be looking at jail time, he said. “This is not hunting. That’s poaching. It’s totally unethical.”
In Alberta, the maximum penalty for illegally selling wildlife is $100,000 in fines or two years in jail. Illegally possessing wildlife can net $50,000 in fines or one year in jail.


Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Edmonton+poachers+fined/7507906/story.html#ixzz2BYRO6YHE

[Sofa King]

You will also see a lot more CO's in Alberta as well. BC needs to follow the example with both more enforcement and higher penalties

the logistics aren't even comparable.
alberta and sask are pretty darn easy to control compared to b.c.
and their fishing is teeny in comparison, which lets the co's concentrate more on hunting.

[HIGHRPM]

I see no reason in the world why BC can't do the same thing !! I fully endorse our legal system to after theses assholes and hit them hard! Lifetime ban, forfiture of vehicle and all owned firearms as they aren't allowed to own anymore ! Don't feel bad for them, HAMMER THEM HARD !

[Wild one]

the logistics aren't even comparable.
alberta and sask are pretty darn easy to control compared to b.c.
and their fishing is teeny in comparison, which lets the co's concentrate more on hunting.

So it only makes sense that BC should have more CO's than Alberta.

Maybe do the same as Alberta and combined the CO's and Fish cops so they can enforce both when given the opportunity. I also seen more enforcement on the fishery as well.

In the end BC does need more enforcement. I have sat down with CO's with there lack of funding and man power it is very difficult for them to make a difference in BC when it comes to poaching.

[russm86]

On a side note, I was up hunting west of Williams Lake in the Till lake area a few weeks ago. We ran into some locals up cutting firewood one morning and they said there was a big road block and game check on the highway headed back towards town. Didn't think much else of it, game checks are fairly common. Anyways, the next day we got stopped by a CO. He was very nice and you could tell loved hunting. He told us the game check was called because of some reports of poachers the previous night. Well we chatted to him a bit more and he gave us a bit more of the story, I guess some First Nations from Vancouver Island were caught red handed, by a rancher/farmer, hunting in one of his fields at 2AM in the morning without the land owners permission. The rancher/farmer was able to get vehicle description including plates and called it in. The guys were stopped at the road block/game check early the next morning with a buck they had shot in the farmers field, again sometime around 2AM, so pit lamping at night, on private property without land owners permission. The guys were charged, and the COs confiscated the game and firearms on site. He didn't mention whether or not they took the vehicle or any monetary fines, but a start in the right direction at least. Also, not sure if the fines willl stick or not due to them being first nations, but I have a feeling the local band wasn't happy about the whole thing, as they don't seem to like other bands, even their neighbours on the other side of the river as they told them if they were caught hunting on their side of the river there would be problems, but anyways, I think maybe the band may step in and back up the COs and make sure there is some justice.

[markt308]

I love it. Nail these clowns.

[Spy]

Good story & outcome hang the lot !

[BRvalley]

Maybe do the same as Alberta and combined the CO's and Fish cops so they can enforce both when given the opportunity. I also seen more enforcement on the fishery as well.




I've only been in BC 2 years now, so excuse my ignorance if I didn't realize this already...but are you saying BC has separate CO's for fishing and hunting? I thought a CO was a CO and empowered to enforce both hunting and fishing infractions, anything else under the fish and wildlife act?

[reach]

I've only been in BC 2 years now, so excuse my ignorance if I didn't realize this already...but are you saying BC has separate CO's for fishing and hunting? I thought a CO was a CO and empowered to enforce both hunting and fishing infractions, anything else under the fish and wildlife act?
Maybe he's talking about the provincial COs cooperating with the federal Fishery Officers. I think the federal officers normally only do sport fishery enforcement on the salt water, and don't do any provincial Wildlife Act enforcement. There may be some overlap in the tidal Fraser as I remember being checked once and I think it was the provincial COs?

Anyway, the way things are going Harper will be laying off everyone in DFO so the point will be moot. And things aren't much better on the provincial front.

[brian]

Also, not sure if the fines willl stick or not due to them being first nations, but I have a feeling the local band wasn't happy about the whole thing, as they don't seem to like other bands, even their neighbours on the other side of the river as they told them if they were caught hunting on their side of the river there would be problems

FN are only allowed in treaty rights to hunt their traditional territories. They are poaching by law if they hunt elsewhere without the necessary tags and licenses. So a bunch of Vancouver island natives hunting Williams lake are most likely outside of their legal hunting rights.

[russm86]

FN are only allowed in treaty rights to hunt their traditional territories. They are poaching by law if they hunt elsewhere without the necessary tags and licenses. So a bunch of Vancouver island natives hunting Williams lake are most likely outside of their legal hunting rights.

I do know this, however it seems that in the past regardless of where they are from they are not held accountable or not charged as it is often seen as a waste of time and resources as the cases seem to get tossed out of court far too easily just on the basis that they are first nations.

[Walking Buffalo]

The penalties applied in this case are rare and justified. There have been many other convictions of serial poachers in Alberta who did not recieve nearly the same severity of punishment.

Here in Alberta, we are waiting to hear what our Outfitter/Guide Society (APOS) is going to do regarding Brody's Guiding licence. It has been a regular occurance for APOS to allow these poachers to continue Outfitting and Guiding.

Poaching on game farms? Just hypothesizing here, but retrieving an animal undetected from a game farm would not be an easy task. Were the game farmers complicit with the illegal hunting on a game farm? I am concerned about a cover-up here.....


Duallie, You running on six flat tires? You obviously don't have a clue what is going on in Alberta regarding Wildlife Act enforcement.

Alberta is easy to patrol? :confused:


Alberta has a severe shortage of Fish and Wildlife and Conservation officers. An even bigger part of the poaching problem in Alberta is getting prosecutors to initiate legal proceedings. Backlogged courts means prosecutors only push the slam dunk cases.



Glad they got this pair and applied a respectable penalty. I hope this becomes the new standard for future decisions.

[brian]

I do know this, however it seems that in the past regardless of where they are from they are not held accountable or not charged as it is often seen as a waste of time and resources as the cases seem to get tossed out of court far too easily just on the basis that they are first nations.

I was just at an election party with a lawyer who told me how BC has a drastic shortage of provincial judges. Many cases are getting dropped or postponed simply because there are not enough people to adjudicate them. I wonder if this is part of the problem?

[reach]

I was just at an election party with a lawyer who told me how BC has a drastic shortage of provincial judges. Many cases are getting dropped or postponed simply because there are not enough people to adjudicate them. I wonder if this is part of the problem?
It's definitely a part of the problem here in BC. There was a high profile (at least here on the forum) case about some elk poachers on the Island who got off because they couldn't line up judges and interpreters in a reasonable length of time, so the case was dropped.

[bandit]

The penalties applied in this case are rare and justified.



Seems pretty disproportionate to me. Compared to the hit and run driver who wrote off my truck, broke 4 of my wifes ribs and nearly killed my kid.... got off with a $300 for leaving the scene of an accident - thankfully 4 separate witnesses got his plate and called it in.

Just sayin'

[HarryToolips]

Good stuff. There needs to be more CO's hired. How do I post messages on the main thread? Anyone?

[ianwuzhere]

when they say "forfeit his vehicle" can he apply to get it back or is it gone forever?

[redwards92]

FN are only allowed in treaty rights to hunt their traditional territories. They are poaching by law if they hunt elsewhere without the necessary tags and licenses. So a bunch of Vancouver island natives hunting Williams lake are most likely outside of their legal hunting rights.

lol no

when they say "forfeit his vehicle" can he apply to get it back or is it gone forever?

bye bye vehicle..... forever.

[j270wsm]

A few years back a guy went to work( coal mine in the east kootenay's) with a firearm and poached a 190" ram, then had a contractor take it off site in a 45gal drum. Besides losing his job ( $100,000/yr ) all he got was a $6000 fine and 5yr ban from owning firearms and hunting. This ass clown should have been put in jail or given the max fine.

[tootoowild]

nope your wrong there buddy! I asked the conservation officers in Merritt and Kamloops about that. We don't need require tags but we need to follow the regulations like everybody else. 4 point or better and so on. this is intended for Brian's comment

[stinkyduck]

Good stuff. There needs to be more CO's hired. How do I post messages on the main thread? Anyone? At the top of the page where it says POST A NEW THREAD

[brian]

nope your wrong there buddy! I asked the conservation officers in Merritt and Kamloops about that. We don't need require tags but we need to follow the regulations like everybody else. 4 point or better and so on. this is intended for Brian's comment




I wonder how educated the average CO is on the quagmire of treaty/FN rights (which is Federal whereas the CO's are provincial)? Most of BC First Nations are not covered under treaty and therefor have rights as an aboriginal. Those who have signed treaties will have their right governed by the treaty. What I did not know is that FN may be granted permission to hunt another traditional territory by the band that governs it. But here is a quote from a more knowledgeable source, the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations (http://www.bcafn.ca/toolkit/pdf/Section_3.32-Wildlife.pdf).


Interestingly, the individual’s Aboriginal right to hunt in BC is more restricted by the province than elsewhere in the country. The way in which Aboriginal rights have been defined outside of treaty is that the right to hunt extends only to that person’s Nation’s hunting area. The right to hunt is not necessarily limited to the lands over which the Nation has Aboriginal title and can include areas over which there are Aboriginal rights (which, at this time, are easier to prove than Aboriginal title), but doesn’t extend throughout the province.

[guest]

Sure wish they would nail ' PETE HENRY " ! 127 B/T's and counting !

CT