November 10, 2020
Manitoba Conservation and Climate Enforcement Update
– – –Continued Enforcement Against Illegal Hunting
Manitoba Conservation and Climate advises that conservation officers are continuing enforcement against illegal night hunting and illegal hunting in moose conservation closure areas. In the early hours of Nov. 10, conservation officers observed a group of hunters using a high-powered LED light bar and spotlight to hunt from a vehicle near St. Labre.
Conservation officers stopped the vehicle without incident and arrested two men, one from St-Pierre-Jolys and another from Steinbach. A 2001 GMC Sierra truck as well as a rifle, various hunting equipment and two flashlights were seized.
On Nov. 8, conservation officers in the Lundar area received a call to the Turn In Poachers (TIP) line about a hunter who had illegally shot a bull elk on private land. A landowner saw a truck on his property and recorded its licence plate number. Conservation officers investigated and the truck’s owner was charged with possession of illegally taken wildlife. The suspect was also issued a restitution notice for $5,000 and the elk was seized.
Since Oct. 10, conservation officers have conducted patrols to enforce Manitoba’s new Wildlife Amendment Act (Safe Hunting and Shared Management), resulting in:
• charges or appearance notices to 20 individuals for serious wildlife offences,
• warnings to 17 individuals for night hunting without a permit or for hunting in a moose conservation closure,
• charges to four individuals for possessing illegally taken wildlife,
• seizures of six vehicles,
• seizures of six firearms, and
• restitution orders totalling $11,500.
On Oct. 10, the Wildlife Amendment Act (Safe Hunting and Shared Management) took effect with the goal of ensuring a safe hunting environment. Night hunting is now illegal in Manitoba on all private land. The act also allows the establishment of shared management committees, which can be an important tool for improved wildlife conservation, including for moose.
The province has implemented a permit system to allow opportunities for rights-based hunting on some Crown land, with different requirements for northern and southern Manitoba based on extensive Crown-Indigenous consultations that contributed to the development of the legislation.
In northern Manitoba, Indigenous hunters may hunt at night on Crown land and do not need to apply for a permit, though it is subject to a three-kilometre safety buffer around occupied sites and provincial roadways.
In southern Manitoba, night hunting is prohibited except with a permit that allows rights-based hunting on Crown land, subject to terms and conditions establishing where it can be done safely.
Anyone with information on illegal activities is asked to call their local Manitoba Conservation and Climate office or the Turn In Poachers (TIP) line at 1-800-782-0076.
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