DATE: Jul 13, 11:12
By Mike McIntyre
Winnipeg Free Press
Talk about the ones that got away.
A group of Quebec hunters, who shelled out upwards of $30,000 for a winter excursion in Saskatchewan, bagged a dozen bucks — including two trophy kills — but came home empty-handed after a run-in with Manitoba Conservation.
Now, two members of the hunting party have been hit with $7,500 in fines for their roles in trying to transport their prized haul back home last December in the back of a bloody pickup truck.
Add it all up and a dream vacation turned into the holiday from hell.
“It’s very sad. We paid all this money and lost our trophy deer,” defence lawyer Hymie Weinstein, quoting one of his clients, told a provincial court Thursday.
The trip started innocently enough with 11 Quebec men — including a former federal court judge — flying to Saskatchewan to meet with a 12th member of their party, who happened to be returning from a road trip to Alberta.
Everyone paid about $2,500 each to a Saskatchewan outfitter for the week-long trip and the chance to hunt some white-tailed deer. They even met with RCMP and local Conservation officials to ensure their licences and paperwork were in order, court was told.
It was a hunter’s paradise with everyone getting a kill by the end of the week. Two of them were believed to be record-sized bucks that would land their proud owners in the “Boone and Crockett” record book, said Weinstein.
The original plan was to fly the deer back to Quebec, where they would be mounted for all the world to see and a permanent reminder of a terrific trip.
But plans changed when the hunter who’d brought his truck from Alberta — Carl Michel Blondin — offered to drive the deer back to Quebec in the back of his pick-up. His friend and fellow hunter, Patrick Laurand Cyr, offered to come along for the ride, court was told.
The other 10 hopped back on a plane and flew home, where they no doubt waited with baited breath for Blondin and Cyr to arrive days later.
So you can imagine the surprise when they pulled into town with a sparkling-clean truck that was completely empty.
Turns out there had been a few bumps on the road back from Saskatchewan.
Blondin and Cyr were initially stopped by Conservation officials at a gas station in Neepawa and questioned about the 12 carcasses in the back of their truck, which was stained with blood, court was told.
There was concern about the fact the deer were sitting in an open, exposed environment and remained largely intact, including their heads, antlers and most internal organs. Chronic wasting disease has affected deer and elk in Alberta and Saskatchewan and is the equivalent to BSE which has been found in Canadian cattle, court was told. Manitoba herds have shown no signs of illness, and provincial wildlife regulations have been drafted to ensure that remains the case.
As a result, deer being transported from out of province must have the head, antlers and organs removed plus be kept in an air-tight, waterproof storage unit.
Blondin and Cyr, along with the other members of their hunting party, were apparently unaware of this regulation, said Weinstein. They also didn’t know they were violating a federal wildlife regulation by transporting deer out of province which they hadn’t personally killed.
“They were not trying to flaunt the law here. Unfortunately, they didn’t ask the right questions or receive the correct information in Saskatchewan,” said Weinstein.
The pair were allowed to keep driving out of Neepawa after a Conservation official took some statements and photographs, which he discussed with a supervisor. A decision was made to stop both men and lay charges, which happened later that day near Falcon Beach.
All 12 deer were seized and ultimately tested for disease before being destroyed. Tests came back negative.
Blondin and Cyr were charged, released and allowed to continue the drive home without their cargo once Conservation officials had thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the truck.
The men returned to Manitoba Thursday to enter guilty pleas to both the provincial and federal violations, which netted them $3,700 fines each under a joint-recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers.
Blondin works as a lumberjack in Quebec, while Cyr is employed at a fishing lodge, court was told
http://mikeoncrime.com/article/3060/mcintyre-column-hunters-bagged-their-bucks-lost-big-money
By Mike McIntyre
Winnipeg Free Press
Talk about the ones that got away.
A group of Quebec hunters, who shelled out upwards of $30,000 for a winter excursion in Saskatchewan, bagged a dozen bucks — including two trophy kills — but came home empty-handed after a run-in with Manitoba Conservation.
Now, two members of the hunting party have been hit with $7,500 in fines for their roles in trying to transport their prized haul back home last December in the back of a bloody pickup truck.
Add it all up and a dream vacation turned into the holiday from hell.
“It’s very sad. We paid all this money and lost our trophy deer,” defence lawyer Hymie Weinstein, quoting one of his clients, told a provincial court Thursday.
The trip started innocently enough with 11 Quebec men — including a former federal court judge — flying to Saskatchewan to meet with a 12th member of their party, who happened to be returning from a road trip to Alberta.
Everyone paid about $2,500 each to a Saskatchewan outfitter for the week-long trip and the chance to hunt some white-tailed deer. They even met with RCMP and local Conservation officials to ensure their licences and paperwork were in order, court was told.
It was a hunter’s paradise with everyone getting a kill by the end of the week. Two of them were believed to be record-sized bucks that would land their proud owners in the “Boone and Crockett” record book, said Weinstein.
The original plan was to fly the deer back to Quebec, where they would be mounted for all the world to see and a permanent reminder of a terrific trip.
But plans changed when the hunter who’d brought his truck from Alberta — Carl Michel Blondin — offered to drive the deer back to Quebec in the back of his pick-up. His friend and fellow hunter, Patrick Laurand Cyr, offered to come along for the ride, court was told.
The other 10 hopped back on a plane and flew home, where they no doubt waited with baited breath for Blondin and Cyr to arrive days later.
So you can imagine the surprise when they pulled into town with a sparkling-clean truck that was completely empty.
Turns out there had been a few bumps on the road back from Saskatchewan.
Blondin and Cyr were initially stopped by Conservation officials at a gas station in Neepawa and questioned about the 12 carcasses in the back of their truck, which was stained with blood, court was told.
There was concern about the fact the deer were sitting in an open, exposed environment and remained largely intact, including their heads, antlers and most internal organs. Chronic wasting disease has affected deer and elk in Alberta and Saskatchewan and is the equivalent to BSE which has been found in Canadian cattle, court was told. Manitoba herds have shown no signs of illness, and provincial wildlife regulations have been drafted to ensure that remains the case.
As a result, deer being transported from out of province must have the head, antlers and organs removed plus be kept in an air-tight, waterproof storage unit.
Blondin and Cyr, along with the other members of their hunting party, were apparently unaware of this regulation, said Weinstein. They also didn’t know they were violating a federal wildlife regulation by transporting deer out of province which they hadn’t personally killed.
“They were not trying to flaunt the law here. Unfortunately, they didn’t ask the right questions or receive the correct information in Saskatchewan,” said Weinstein.
The pair were allowed to keep driving out of Neepawa after a Conservation official took some statements and photographs, which he discussed with a supervisor. A decision was made to stop both men and lay charges, which happened later that day near Falcon Beach.
All 12 deer were seized and ultimately tested for disease before being destroyed. Tests came back negative.
Blondin and Cyr were charged, released and allowed to continue the drive home without their cargo once Conservation officials had thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the truck.
The men returned to Manitoba Thursday to enter guilty pleas to both the provincial and federal violations, which netted them $3,700 fines each under a joint-recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers.
Blondin works as a lumberjack in Quebec, while Cyr is employed at a fishing lodge, court was told
http://mikeoncrime.com/article/3060/mcintyre-column-hunters-bagged-their-bucks-lost-big-money
