Our Manitoba Conservation Enforcement Officers have been working around the clock in the province to protect our wildlife against illegal night-lighting and illegal hunting in closure areas. Aerial surveillance equipped with thermal imaging, paired with on the ground enforcement and K9 support, has been incredibly effective in locating criminals breaking laws established in Bill-29 of the Wildlife Amendment Act (Safe Hunting and Shared Management), and serving them accordingly. This legislation took effect on October 10, 2020 with the goal of protecting Manitoba’s moose population and ensuring a safe hunting environment for everyone. Night hunting is now illegal in Manitoba on all private land.
Since Oct. 10, conservation officers have conducted patrols to enforce Manitoba’s new Wildlife Amendment Act (Safe Hunting and Shared Management), resulting in:
• charges or appearance notices to 31 individuals for serious wildlife offences,
• warnings to 19 individuals for night hunting without a permit or for hunting in a moose conservation closure,
• charges to 11 individuals for possessing illegally taken wildlife,
• seizures of eight vehicles,
• seizures of 16 firearms, and
• restitution orders total: $20,500.
The MWF has been advocating for greater enforcement efforts to curtail an increase in illegal night hunting activities. We are pleased to see our well-trained officers have been given the resources to effectively pursue and apprehend these criminals. Hats off to all the hard-working officers and to the Department of Conservation and Climate for ensuring healthy wildlife populations and safe hunting environments for all Manitobans!
For the full government press release visit: https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=49575&posted=2020-11-04
