THUNDER BAY — A justice of the peace fined three city residents in connection with illegal hunting practices related to a case that dates back to October 2023.
Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers began an investigation into the harvesting of a bull moose in Wildlife Management Unit 15B, near the Graham Road.
The ministry said Peter Berardi had a bull moose tag, but failed to immediately invalidate it.
Instead, he contacted Thomas Tronsen and Alan Tronsen who were in Thunder Bay, and they drove to his location to invalidate another tag on the animal.
This allowed Berardi to maintain his tag and continue hunting.
The harvested moose was then taken to a residence in the city and distributed among the three men.
Conservation officers later seized the moose and laid charges.
In court earlier this year, Berardi pleaded guilty to failing to immediately invalidate his tag, and to possessing illegally killed wildlife.
He was fined a total of $4,000.
Thomas Tronsen pleaded guilty to unlawfully invalidating his moose tag on wildlife killed by another person, and to possessing illegally killed wildlife, resulting in fines totalling $4,000.
Alan Tronsen was fined $1,000 for possessing illegally killed wildlife.
The MNR did not indicate in its news release how it learned about the incident.
It said the public can report hunting and fishing violations by calling the ministry 's toll-free line at 1-877-847-7667, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.
