Westman outfitters lose licences
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2023 (1139 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Two tourism operators have lost their licences after an investigation led by the Manitoba Conservation Officer Service in partnership with Canadian and U.S. wildlife investigators.
Royal Elk Outfitting and South Park Outfitters, located in the Grandview area, lost their licences following the conclusion of court cases stemming from a probe, dubbed Operation Crossing Line, that began in September 2019.
The Manitoba government said Thursday the investigation started when a hunter from Iowa was returning to the U.S. at the Pembina port of entry. One of the raw bear hides in his possession didn’t have a game tag. Both hides were seized and U.S. authorities alerted the Manitoba Conservation Officer Service.
The probe uncovered numerous violations under the Wildlife Act of Manitoba, the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (Canada), and the Lacey Act (U.S.) between 2012 and 2021 by two Manitoba outfitters, their clients and a Manitoba taxidermist.
Investigators determined a number of Americans had hunted black bears in the wrong Game Hunting Area or had illegally hunted a second bear.
In December 2022, the owner of Royal Elk Outfitting pleaded guilty to 15 counts of violating the Wildlife Act and received a $10,000 fine. On the same day, the owner of South Park Outfitters pleaded guilty to 11 counts of violating the act and received a $2,000 fine.
Months earlier, the owner of Royal Elk Outfitting had been convicted under federal law of giving false or misleading information. He received a $5,000 fine and forfeited a harvested black bear.
In April 2022, the taxidermist was convicted of providing a false and misleading statement and received a $730 fine.
In early 2022, an American client of the outfitter that had obtained a second licence under a false name in 2019 and exported the bear to the U.S. was convicted under the Lacey Act. He abandoned the second bear and received a $5,000 fine.
In 2020, an American was convicted in the U.S. of importing an illegally killed black bear. He received a US$7,500 fine.
» Winnipeg Free Press