 |
|
03-04-2022, 09:00 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,262
|
|
For those that can't get past the pay wall.
theguardian.com
US hunter fined after trophy photo proves he shot sheep in Canada
Leyland Cecco
3 minutes
When an Alaskan hunter ventured out into the rugged mountains and dropped his target with a single rifle shot, it seemed like the perfect crime.
The only witness lay dead on the rocky landscape.
But Donald Lee’s deception was uncovered after forensic work by a savvy online sleuth and conservation officers revealed that Lee killed a bighorn sheep in Canada – not the United States, as he had previously claimed.
A Yukon court slapped Lee with a C$8,500 (US$6,700) fine and barred him from hunting in Canada for five years after he pleaded guilty to an offence under federal wildlife protection laws.
“I am regretful for the decisions I made that day,” Lee said in court, CBC reported. “I can’t return the animal to the mountain.”
In 2017, Lee was hunting the Nation River area of Alaska, close to the Yukon border. He spotted a Fannin sheep grazing on the mountainside, less than 200 metres away.
What he didn’t realise, he later told the court, was that the animal was across the border in Canada – where he didn’t have a permit to hunt. It was only after he had bagged the sheep that the penny dropped, he alleged.
“I suppose I could have contacted someone to get in touch with the Canadian authorities somehow. Instead I made some poor decisions,” Lee wrote in a statement read to the court.
Those decisions included filling out paperwork to say the kill was in Alaska. He ate the meat from his kill and brought the carcass to a taxidermist, mounting the curly-horned ungulate on his wall.
But it was his choice to post trophy photos of the kill that was his undoing.
Images posted to a sheep hunting forum included both date and geolocation. A sharp-eyed user then sent a tip to Yukon conservation officers, who then travelled by helicopter to the remote area where Lee was believed to have shot the sheep.
The Yukon team painstakingly recreated the scene, using landmarks including distinct rocks and scraggly trees to prove Lee had committed a crime.
Lee now has one year to pay the fine and was previously ordered to turn over the stuffed head.
“I will also say that the sentence imposed today is one which should send a strong message to the public about the price,” said Noel Sinclair, the crown attorney, told reporters after Lee was sentenced. “Unethical hunters will pay when they are careless or deliberately turning a blind eye to the regulatory requirements for hunting in the Yukon.”
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by huntinstuff
Attention Anti Hunters
Sit back
Pour yourself a tea
Watch us "sportsmen" attack each other and destroy ourselves from within.
From road hunters vs "real hunters" to bowhunters vs rifle hunters, long bows and recurves vs compound user to bow vs crossbow to white hunters vs Native hunters etc etc etc
.....
Enjoy the easy ride, anti hunters. Strange to me why we seem to be doing your job for you.
Excuse me while I go puke.
|
|
03-04-2022, 09:01 AM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,701
|
|
Fines should have been higher
|
03-04-2022, 09:23 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Rocky Mtn House,AB
Posts: 2,214
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by marky_mark
Fines should have been higher
|
Yep...
|
03-04-2022, 09:23 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,808
|
|
If you're going to be unethical, you should at least be smart, but that would be an oxymoron. 
Grizz
__________________
Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there is no place, that they be alone in the midst of the Earth.
Isaiah 5:8
|
03-04-2022, 09:29 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 386
|
|
Those Yukon officers are a savy bunch.
I have heard story after story of guys getting busted after posting pictures of their kills online. Track the background, and busted in areas they were not authorized to kill that animal in.
When I was up in the Yukon, had a friend busted for shooting a bear on the wrong side of the road, by pictures posted.
All 4 in the party fined and banned from hunting 5 years. OUCH!
|
03-04-2022, 09:31 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Near Edmonton
Posts: 15,061
|
|
They spent more on the Helicopter trip than they got back in fines. He should have been hit with 100,000 in fines, or jail, that is a deterrent.
|
03-04-2022, 09:43 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Far Enough From The City, AB
Posts: 1,574
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean2
They spent more on the Helicopter trip than they got back in fines. He should have been hit with 100,000 in fines, or jail, that is a deterrent.
|
I was thinking the same thing about the helicopter costs Dean.
Still glad that he was caught in the end though from his own undoing….
__________________
"Better To Be Judged By 12, Then Buried By Six"
|
03-04-2022, 09:53 AM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,701
|
|
Helicopter fees were low. Wardens were given all the info they needed before they even left the base.
|
03-04-2022, 09:55 AM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,701
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by wallz
Those Yukon officers are a savy bunch.
I have heard story after story of guys getting busted after posting pictures of their kills online. Track the background, and busted in areas they were not authorized to kill that animal in.
When I was up in the Yukon, had a friend busted for shooting a bear on the wrong side of the road, by pictures posted.
All 4 in the party fined and banned from hunting 5 years. OUCH!
|
Was that the one with Pat?
|
03-04-2022, 09:55 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 132
|
|
What is the cost of a US res doing this hunt legal? He has to have a guide and all the expense to go with it. The fine should be 5 times or more the est cost of a legal hunt. Let's just say you found a deal and got the hunt for 25K. What deterrent is it to charge him 6K for a 25K hunt?
|
03-04-2022, 10:14 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ft. McMurray
Posts: 38,586
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by marky_mark
Was that the one with Pat?
|
I don't think so, that was a different deal I think
Cat
__________________
Anytime I figure I've got this long range thing figured out, I just strap into the sling and irons and remind myself that I don't! 
|
03-04-2022, 10:29 AM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,701
|
|
Ya those bears up there can be stubborn and they don’t shoo very easily in the direction you want lol
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
|
03-04-2022, 11:50 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,854
|
|
What is a Fannin Bighorn? Lol.
This is kinda funny really. Guaranteed these super sleuths weren’t interested in whether it was poached. They were interested in what drainage they could venture in to to find a ram.
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”
-Billy Molls
Last edited by Pathfinder76; 03-04-2022 at 11:56 AM.
|
03-04-2022, 12:30 PM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,701
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pathfinder76
What is a Fannin Bighorn? Lol.
This is kinda funny really. Guaranteed these super sleuths weren’t interested in whether it was poached. They were interested in what drainage they could venture in to to find a ram.
|
Not in this case
|
03-04-2022, 12:43 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,854
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by marky_mark
Not in this case
|
Really?
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”
-Billy Molls
|
03-04-2022, 01:19 PM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,701
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pathfinder76
Really?
|
Yes
|
03-04-2022, 01:45 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 433
|
|
illegal sheep
Good job by the Yukon Conservation officers. Yeah, a bigger fine & a lifetime hunting ban in Canada would have been more appropriate.
Fannin big horn sheep.jpg
The photo on the left shows Donald Lee with the sheep. The photo on the right shows Yukon conservation officer Sean Cox in the same location, with arrows pointing out the natural landmarks proving that the animal was on the Canadian side of the border. Photograph: Yukon territorial court
|
03-04-2022, 02:48 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,854
|
|
So correct me if I’m wrong. The article indicates that the photos he posted online had gps coordinates imbedded in them. Correct?
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”
-Billy Molls
|
03-04-2022, 03:08 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 10,192
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pathfinder76
So correct me if I’m wrong. The article indicates that the photos he posted online had gps coordinates imbedded in them. Correct?
|
That's common if taken with a smart phone.
|
03-04-2022, 04:49 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 53
|
|
The fine should have been as much as a non resident sheep hunt!!
|
03-04-2022, 05:34 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 960
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by COYDOG
The fine should have been as much as a non resident sheep hunt!!
|
Yeah, this is my thought as well
|
03-04-2022, 07:40 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: In the woods
Posts: 8,923
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pathfinder76
So correct me if I’m wrong. The article indicates that the photos he posted online had gps coordinates imbedded in them. Correct?
|
If I recall most digital photos have some type of meta data that includes gpa coordinates. Some programs out there where you can just select a picture and it will draw that data out and let you know where it was taken.
While from the article I wouldn’t say the hunt itself was unethical. The decision to try and get away with it after he discovered the sheep was on the wrong side of the line was the unethical/illegal part. The number of criminals caught because of their posts to social media would blow your mind!
|
03-04-2022, 09:30 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Fort Sask, AB
Posts: 4,924
|
|
I always take a screen shot of my pics before I post, trail cam pics etc.
Not 100% sure if any of that data transfers, but I doubt it.
TBark
|
03-04-2022, 10:36 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 939
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by wallz
Those Yukon officers are a savy bunch.
I have heard story after story of guys getting busted after posting pictures of their kills online. Track the background, and busted in areas they were not authorized to kill that animal in.
When I was up in the Yukon, had a friend busted for shooting a bear on the wrong side of the road, by pictures posted.
All 4 in the party fined and banned from hunting 5 years. OUCH!
|
There was a picture of a stone sheep posted this year on here with the background all whited out.
|
03-04-2022, 10:46 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Red Deer, Alberta
Posts: 2,065
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TBark
I always take a screen shot of my pics before I post, trail cam pics etc.
Not 100% sure if any of that data transfers, but I doubt it.
TBark
|
I do the same thing. Post screen shots of the originals. Not because I’m doing anything illegal but to keep nosey people from tracking anything.
|
03-04-2022, 11:15 PM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,153
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by marky_mark
Was that the one with Pat?
|
Pat??
|
03-05-2022, 02:35 AM
|
|
Banned
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,701
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by sage 13
There was a picture of a stone sheep posted this year on here with the background all whited out.
|
Yep, that’s because there are people that will use the skyline to figure out here you shot the ram.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
|
03-05-2022, 06:08 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,854
|
|
This is what I’m getting at. There was no “super sleuth” here. Someone took data from a photo for their own gain. Realized what happened. Turned it over to authorities. They tracked the coordinates and verified it by landmarks.
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”
-Billy Molls
|
03-05-2022, 06:27 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 7,493
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pathfinder76
This is what I’m getting at. There was no “super sleuth” here. Someone took data from a photo for their own gain. Realized what happened. Turned it over to authorities. They tracked the coordinates and verified it by landmarks.
|
Yup likely a gut pile chaser stumbling onto a poacher
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:15 AM.
|
Linear Mode
