(Hunter at sunset image via Shutterstock)
Manitoba Conservation has laid charges against a hunter following a lengthy two-year investigation into the killing of a whitetail deer on private land without the owner’s permission.
Based on a tip in September 2019 and social media posts by the alleged suspect, officials began investigating.
Conservation officers from East Selkirk were able to lay charges and recently the suspect pled guilty. Conservation officers found that a whitetail deer had been killed and cleaned near two camouflage hunting blinds and a pile of crab apples set up on property where the landowner had not given permission to hunt.
“Based on interviews and internet search evidence of a hunter who had posted photos with a deer in the area, officers obtained a search warrant and found a deer mount that matched the animal in the photo and deer meat, as well as several cameras and memory cards,” officials said in a press release.
Keith Lovelace pled guilty in June 2021 to hunting within 800 metres of a cervid bait. He was fined $900 and ordered to pay restitution of $3,000 for the whitetail deer.
Anyone with information on illegal activities is asked to call their local Manitoba Conservation and Climate office or the Turn in Poachers (TIP) line at 1-800-782-0076.
