Manitoba Conservation officers are coming across illegal and unsafe hunting situations.

Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development ended the year by releasing a report on a few cases it has investigated in southeastern Manitoba.

On December 11th, conservation officers in Lac du Bonnet received information from a landowner about two deer that were illegally taken on private property.

A hunter left the property on snowmobile after being confronted by the landowner.

Officers found the individual with a loaded rifle and he was unable to produce his hunting licence. As a result, the accused was fined $1,458 and required to pay $3,000 in restitution.

Two whitetail deer and the rifle were seized.

On November 11th in the Sandilands Provincial Forest in the RM of Reynolds, conservation officers stopped a vehicle and discovered a processed untagged whitetail deer in the rear compartment. The driver did not have a hunting licence or game tags with him. The deer was seized and he was ticketed.

While conducting a decoy operation in southeastern Manitoba during deer-hunting season, conservation officers saw two hunters stop on the road and walk back to the whitetail decoy.

A female hunter got down on one knee in the middle of the road and shot twice at the decoy.

Officers stopped the individuals and issued the shooter a $486 ticket for shooting from a public road within a municipality.

The report also details an incident from November 16th when conservation officers in Beausejour were told there was an individual near Elma who was offering to shoot a deer for anyone who had a deer licence.

Investigation led officers to a recently harvested whitetail deer that was picked up by another person at the hunter’s residence.

That person attached his deer tag to the animal before loading it into his vehicle and leaving. The deer was seized and both people were fined.

The investigation also revealed that a third person had received a deer from the hunter. That individual was also fined.

The Turn In Poachers (TIP) Line is 1-800-782-0076.