A Prince George man was fined $4,000 after pleading guilty to hunting elk without a permit.
Edwin Francis Mcewen, 57, was issued the penalty Wednesday in Prince George provincial court in relation to a Dec. 5, 2013 incident near Hudson's Hope.
The court heard that a resident in the area was having coffee while watching a herd of elk and deer in her field when Mcewen and two friends, who were unaware he did not have a permit, drove up and jumped over a fence into a neighbour's yard.
Mcewen then pulled out his rifle and fired into the herd, killing a bull and a cow elk.
The resident confronted Mcewen, who commented he thought he was doing the landowner a favour. She thought otherwise, took some photos and contacted the conservation officer service.
By the time an officer arrived, Mcewen was harvesting the bull. When the officer noticed a semicircular ring on his eye from the rifle's scope, Mcewen admitted he shot the animals without a permit.
Crown prosecutor Geoffrey McDonald said Mcewen committed an egregious breach.
"Openly firing into a herd in that matter is irresponsible and dangerous and indeed, in this case, it took out two animals," he said.
In issuing the fine, Judge Dan Weatherly agreed with a joint submission from Crown and defence councils. Mcewen is also prohibited from hunting for three years and cannot accompany other hunters during that time, with the exception of two people whose names were provided to the court. When with them, Mcewen cannot carry any equipment specifically related to hunting.
Mcewen pleaded guilty to two counts of hunting elk without a limited entry permit and to one count of unlawful possession of dead wildlife, all under the Wildlife Act.
