A Richmond man was fined $8,000 earlier this month for illegally shooting a mule deer doe last year.
Li Tan, 54, and another man were hunting near Princeton on Nov. 6, 2018 when Tan shot the doe in the stomach with a crossbow, wounding it, said Tobe Sprado, inspector for the Conservation Officer Service for the Okanagan.
The deer then fled to another property, where it was euthanized by the landowner who then reported the incident to the B.C. conservation service, said Sprado.
The conservation service initially received a report of injured wildlife, said Sprado.
And when officers visited the scene, they determined Tan had illegally attempted to “harvest the mule deer doe,” said Sprado.
The deer had two fawns with it at the time, but Sprado said he isn’t aware of what happened to them.
Tan didn’t have a license to hunt the mule deer doe.
While the province does issue licenses for mule deer and other deer species, they weren’t in season, said Sprado, adding that because the deer was a doe, the province wouldn’t issue a license for it.
“This (deer) being a doe, we did not have a limited entry hunting authorization that allows hunters to actually harvest a doe lawfully,” said Sprado.
Tan was charged on seven counts, said Sprado. He pled guilty in Princeton court Dec. 12 and was convicted on four counts, with fines totalling $8,000:
- Hunting without consideration, with a $2,500 fine;
- Failing to report the killing or wounding of wildlife, with a $2,500 fine;
- Hunting, taking, trapping, wounding or killing wildlife out of season, with a $2,500 fine; and
- Hunting without a license, with a $1,500 fine.
Tan also lost his hunting privileges for four years.
The other man wasn’t charged.
According to Sprado, it’s a “great outcome” for the B.C. Conservation Officer Service. Typically, he said, fines range between $2,500 and $3,000 plus a hunting probation.
“This was precedent-setting for us,” said Sprado. “To get $8,000, that’s excellent.”
- Kirsten Clarke / Richmond News
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