Using a forged treaty number to hunt moose and deer has landed a Weyburn man in big trouble with wildlife officials.
Thirty-five-year-old Dustin Hoskins was fined $5,000 and banned from hunting for two years after being convicted of a number of offences, including using a forged document and illegally harvesting two bull moose and a white-tailed deer.
Saskatchewan Environment conservation officer Rich Hildebrand says this sort of fraud is not very common.
“We do run into it, come across it occasionally,” he says. “But our more common hunting violations are things like hunting without licences, or hunting within 500 metres of occupied buildings or unlawful hunting/possession type of situations.”
The charges go back to November of 2011, but were only recently dealt with in court.
An accomplice who helped Hoskins shoot the moose was also charged.
Thirty-eight-year-old Corby Obryne was fined $1,500 and was banned from hunting for a year.
A tip on Saskatchewan Environment’s Turn in Poachers line led to the arrests.
Hildebrand credits the general public and responsible hunters for bringing the perpetrators to justice.