Two Powell River men without hunting licences are facing charges for their involvement in the killing of elk on the Lower Sunshine Coast in February 2013.
The BC Conservation Officer Service announced Friday, July 18, that the two Powell River men, associates of a third man from Pender Harbour, are being charged with a single charge each under the Wildlife Act.
The three men are scheduled to appear in Sechelt Provincial Court on Wednesday, August 20.
The Crown alleges that three cow elk were shot at night, off a public highway near Ruby Lake, in an area closed to hunting and the discharge of firearms.
Conservation officer Andrew Anaka explained that the Roosevelt elk shot were part of a nursery herd used for translocation and re-establishment of Roosevelt elk populations in historic ranges throughout the lower coast, including the Powell River area and watersheds north to the Homathko River.
“Elk on the Sechelt Peninsula are of particular value to the people of British Columbia including the shíshálh [Sechelt Indian Band] people,” said Anaka. “These elk are the progeny of elk translocated to the area in the early 1990s at considerable cost to the taxpayers of BC.”
The elk are used to populate elk herds which have been wiped out throughout coastal areas, making each female particularly valuable to the preservation of the species, he added.
The men are charged under the Wildlife Act with possessing dead wildlife or possessing part of any wildlife without authorization under licence, permit, or as provided by regulation.
A person who commits a first offence under the act is liable to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.
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