The B.C. Conservation Officer Service says a man has been fined $10,000 and banned from hunting for 15 years for illegally killing a grizzly bear near Elkford, B.C.
The service says in a social media post that a decision from a provincial court judge in Fernie, B.C., this week also ordered the man’s rifle be forfeited.
It says officers launched an investigation in the spring of 2020 after receiving a tip from the public about a man hunting bears using bait near the community of Elkford.
The service says the investigation took a year, but in 2021 conservation officers apprehended the man shooting a decoy black bear at the site where bait had been placed.
The investigation also found the man shot and killed a grizzly bear at the bait site and harvested parts from the animal.
The province imposed a ban on hunting grizzly bears in 2017, and the service says evidence gathered during the investigation led to a successful conviction of killing wildlife when it is not open season.
SEE ALSO: Conservation group buys out hunting rights in Great Bear Rainforest
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2024.
The Canadian Press
