Two Manitoba residents were fined $13,980 for illegal hunting in the Cadillac area and arrested near Assiniboia back in November of 2022. 

Maurice Sala of East Selkirk and Curtis Thunder of Buffalo Point pleaded guilty to the charges in Swift Current Provincial Court on Nov. 29 to several charges under The Wildlife Act. 

Sala pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of wildlife, unlawful export of wildlife and wasting wildlife. He was fined $10,960. 

Thunder pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of wildlife, unlawful hunting and driving off trails in a former PFRA pasture. Thunder was fined $3,020. 

Both men also received two-year hunting suspensions. 

The incident occurred on Nov. 12, 2022, when Shaunavon conservation officers received a tip, including a vehicle description, about Manitoba residents illegally hunting in the Cadillac area. Officers responded and found a mule deer buck that had been shot and left to waste. 

With help from officers in Shaunavon, Assiniboia, Moose Jaw and Regina, along with a K9 unit, the vehicle pulling an enclosed trailer was located on Highway 13 west of Assiniboia. 

Three people were found in the vehicle in possession of numerous wildlife but no provincial hunting licenses. 

All three people were arrested and the trailer was seized, along with the wildlife, hunting equipment and cell phones. Conservation officers used DNA to link the three people to the wasted mule deer. 

The three people were charged with Sala and Thunder pleading guilty. The third person charged passed away before the matter concluded in court. 

Residents are reminded that if they suspect wildlife, fisheries, forestry or environmental violations, call Saskatchewan’s toll-free Turn In Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line at 1-800-667-7561 or report violations online at www.saskatchewan.ca/tipp.