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KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Three men from British Columbia's Lower Mainland have been fined and banned from hunting for 10 years each for "unlawfully killing wildlife," including a deer pregnant with two fawns. 

On Thursday, a Kamloops provincial court judge fined one man $8,000 and his rifle and spotlights were seized, while the two others received $5,000 penalties, the BC Conservation Officer Service says in a social media post. 

The service says the men used spotlights while hunting at night in May 2020 to kill two deer, despite the hunting season being closed. 

The men were also caught with several grouse and a marmot. 

The group was stopped by a conservation officer conducting hunting compliance checks in the area and their firearms and wildlife was seized as evidence. 

The service says it hopes the court's penalties help deter others, and most of the fines paid will go to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2024. 

The Canadian Press