Illegal moose hunters fined $56.5K, suspended for 27 years in northern Ont.

A remote hunting outpost, its former owner and 10 others have been fined a total of $56,500 after pleading guilty to various charges related to illegal moose hunting in northern Ontario.

A remote hunting outpost, its former owner and 10 others have been fined a total of $56,500 after pleading guilty to various charges related to illegal moose hunting in northern Ontario.

Ontario conservation officers conducted a yearlong investigation between October 2020 and 2021 into illegal moose hunting in a fly-in-only area north of Kenora, including Eagle, Chase and Snowshoe lakes.

"A special investigation was initiated from information received from the public, as well as from previous investigations to address the ongoing issue of illegal moose hunting with allegations of discharging a firearm from a watercraft, using an aircraft while hunting, hunting without a licence and other offences under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act," Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said in a news release Friday.

The individual cases were heard by various justices of the peace in the Ontario Court of Justice in Kenora through 2023 and 2024.

Combined, the convicted parties have 27 years of hunting licence suspensions as a result, MNRF said.

Fly-in fishing and hunting company 1526085 Ontario Inc., which operates as Walsten Outpost Cabins in Kenora, pleaded guilty to hunting a bull moose without a license and received a $10,000 fine.

Former owner Kevin Walsten pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a conservation officer and was fined $3,000. He sold the business in 2022, the company's website said.