The recent moose hunting season had conservation officers hard at work, each checking about 200 hunters a day and together issuing around 45 tickets and 30 warnings.
Kevin Nixon, Sergeant Conservation Officer for the Skeena region, Dease Lake to Smithers, says conservation staff were out patrolling for the full seven days, Oct. 20 to 26.
“You name it, we had it,” said Nixon, adding that tickets were issued for hunting outside of prescribed areas, having loaded firearms in vehicles, firing in no shooting areas and discharging firearms from a vehicle, as well as littering and liquor tickets.
Several big fines were charged to one assistant guide, who was caught guiding an American client outside of his guide territory, said Nixon.
When asked if there were any poaching charges, Nixon said they seized a moose from some hunters near Burns Lake and also found one shot and left cow moose, with very few leads as to who was responsible.
“The compliance rate was definitely lower than last year, and we wrote way more liquor tickets this year than we have in the past,” said Nixon.
He said that there is zero-tolerance for alcohol and guns, and even driving around with a beer in the cup holder of the truck when you’re hunting is not allowed.
The week-long open moose hunting season drew lots of people from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver, and the hunter success was normal, with good success in the first two days tapering off near the end, Nixon said.
The season started on a Saturday, and Nixon said everybody was out there early, but when Monday hit and the logging and slash burning started, it curbed a lot of the activity and by Wednesday they noticed a lot of camps packing up and heading home.
Nixon says the hunting pressure will continue right through November with the limited-entry moose season and the four-point mule deer season.
If anyone sees or encounters any violations, they are asked to call it in at 1-877-952-7277.
