Back in November 20011 had a case involving numerous infractions
by two duck hunters from Bourget, Ontario. The case was finally
completed in February 2004. Here's what happened...
had received several complaints about waterfowl hunting
Iat the Casselman sewage lagoon, relating to both hunting
after legal time and the fact that the lagoon is clearly
and prominently posted against trespassing. On Saturday,
November 24, 2001, I was patrolling Russell County, in which
Casselman is located. After checking on some ammunition sales
at a local business, relating to another investigation, I
left the store at about 16:30 hrs, five minutes after sunset.
I proceeded to the local Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)
detachment to touch base with local officers, and left there
shortly before 17:00 hrs. The lagoon is less than a five
minute drive away so I decided I'd go check if anything was
happening. I had planned to pull over nearby and listen for
shots but as I approached the lagoon a vehicle behind me
started flashing its lights. I continued a short distance
before pulling over to let the vehicle pass. Instead, the
vehicle pulled in behind me, and the driver leapt out and
approached my window. He asked if I was a game warden and
then told me that there were hunters in the lagoon right
then.
After the complainant left me, I turned around, drove back
to the lagoon and entered the laneway leading to the entry
gate. It was now shortly after 17:00 hrs, and quite dark.
I did not want to alert anybody in the lagoon that I was
driving in, so I turned off my vehicle lights, but it was
so dark I could not drive any further. I parked my vehicle
in the laneway and walked the rest of the way in to the gate.
I was only ten metres or so from the gate when I finally
saw that there was indeed a pickup truck parked there. It
was about five metres from the gate. It was now about 17:15
hrs. Using my flashlight, I was able to see that there were
two soft shotgun cases, without guns in them, on the passenger
side of the pickup's seat. I could also see two boxes of
lead shot on the seat, one apparently empty and the other
about half full.
At 17:17 hrs, I heard a gunshot coming from the lagoon.
I entered the lagoon, passing between the gate and the gatepost.
Both gateposts had clear "Defense de Passer" (No
Trespassing) signs posted on them. Upon entering the lagoon
it became apparent to me that without turning on my flashlight
it would be futile to try to find anybody, so I returned
to the pickup.
At 17:25 hrs I saw two people walking, silhouetted above
me on the lagoon embankment. I could hear them talking and
the crunch of their steps on the gravel drive. As they came
level with the laneway they turned and descended towards
the gate, disappearing in the dark. I heard the two of them
squeeze through between the gate and the gatepost. I was
standing at the driver's window of the pickup truck at this
time. As soon as I was sure both persons had come through
the gate, I stepped out from the driver's side, turned on
my flashlight, and saw that each man was carrying an unencased
shotgun. I identified myself, and ordered them to put the
guns on the ground and step back. Both men were clearly startled
to see me, the older of the two practically jumping off the
ground. They both put their gun, and everything else they
were carrying, onto the ground and backed away.
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I proceeded to secure the two
guns. The first one I picked up was loaded, with one steel
shot shell in the chamber and a second shell, lead, in the
magazine. The second gun was unloaded. I asked both men for
their hunting licences and any other shells they had on their
persons. Both indicated they had no more shells. One produced
hunting licences and identification. The other indicated
that his licences and identification were in his truck, back
in Bourget. This man, the younger of the two, also indicated
to me, before he was cautioned, that the shot fired was his,
killing a crippled bird. The two were father and son.
On a second query as to whether the hunters had any more
shells, the father, who had the unloaded firearm, pulled
three more shells from his pocket. He was looking at these,
not apparently prepared to hand them over, so I removed them
from his possession. All three were lead shot.
At this point, I decided that there were enough violations
present to keep me occupied for a while, and that I could
really use some assistance in securing all my seizures while
watching these two, so I called the OPP for assistance. Two
officers arrived in very short order; the same two officers
with whom I had been speaking when I had stopped at the detachment
earlier. While one watched, the other and I searched the
two hunters. No more shot shells were found on them. I proceeded
to make my seizures. Among the other items placed on the ground were a number
of waterfowl carcasses. The son, holder of the loaded firearm,
had put one duck on the ground. I bagged it. The father had
put a goose and four ducks on the ground. These I also bagged,
separately from the son's duck.
The OPP then transported the two men back to the detachment
in their cruiser while I placed the seized items in my vehicle
and followed them to their detachment. I did my paperwork
there, including Part III summonses (for possessing un-encased
firearms at night), a report-innotice for the son's licences,
and seizure receipts. I forgot to put the one duck seized
from the son on his seizure receipt. It was clear that they
were not going to give me a statement, so I served them and
let them go. The OPP drove them back to their vehicle. I
then completed my paperwork and drove back to the office.
I secured the firearms and other seizures and then went to
clean the birds. One duck was a northern shoveller. The second
bag contained one Canada goose, one mallard and three black
ducks. The black duck limit in southern Ontario is one per
day.
After a day off I was back in the office and seeing as I
had never checked the two guns the day of the incident to
see if they had been plugged I proceeded to do just that.
One gun was fine; the other, the one that had been loaded,
was not properly plugged and I was able to get three shells
easily into the magazine. So, as I was going on holidays
in three days, I got to work on my charges. The son did send
in copies of his small game licence and migratory bird permit.
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