The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNF) has announced punishment for a Windsor-Essex hunter who admitted to hunting practices that were unsafe or illegal.
The Woodslee man pleaded guilty in July to several charges and was fined $5,500. The OMNF announced the decision on Friday.
"The court heard that on December 31, 2023, a conservation officer was working in the vicinity of Leamington when [he] was contacted returning home from his hunt," read a release from the OMNF.
The OMNF said the hunter had a crossbow and a 30-06 calibre rifle that was being used to hunt coyotes.
"Through an investigation, it was determined [he] had also hunted deer without a licence," read the release. "[He] produced a counterfeit deer tag to the conservation officer. His original deer tag had already been used the day before on a white-tailed deer he shot with the 30-06 calibre rifle."
The charges the hunter pleaded guilty to were hunting deer with a centre-fire rifle in an archery-only season, hunting without a licence, using a counterfeit tag, and using a rifle greater than a .275-calibre while hunting small game.