KENORA — The Ministry of Natural Resources nabbed a pair of hunters from southwestern Ontario on careless hunting charges during a deer decoy operation near Nestor Falls.
When the case went before a justice of the peace in Kenora earlier this year, she imposed fines totalling $17,500.
The MNR said conservation officers placed a decoy deer on Tri Lake Road in October 2022, and were watching when a vehicle arrived on the scene about half an hour before legal hunting time.
After its headlights illuminated the decoy, two men exited the vehicle and fired down the roadway at it seven times from their high-powered rifles.
Armenio Ferreira and Michael Cabral of Leamington both pleaded guilty to careless hunting and hunting at night.
Ferreira also pleaded guilty to having a loaded firearm in a vehicle and hunting big game without a licence.
Court was told he had harvested a deer in 2021 in the Nestor Falls area but had used a tag that was only valid in for deer harvested in the city of Kenora.
The man was fined a total of $10,000 while his companion was fined $7,500.
Both also had their hunting privileges suspended for two years, and will have to complete the Ontario Hunter Education Course before acquiring another licence.
