The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture is seeking information from the public to support ongoing investigations of two recent poaching incidents.

Resource Enforcement Officers are seeking information related to a moose poaching incident which occurred at a location north of the Town of Cormack, along the White River Forest Access Road near Deadwater Brook. An investigation was initiated after information was obtained from a social media post related to a moose that was shot and abandoned. It is suspected that the poaching incident occurred between Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10, on the weekend the big game hunting season opened.

On September 9, officers discovered the carcass of a caribou which had been shot and left on the side of the road near Lake St. John, approximately 44 kilometers from the Town of Terra Nova.

Anyone with information about these investigations or other incidents where there is suspected illegal activity can anonymously contact the Resource Enforcement Division at 1-877-820-0999 or at stoppoaching.ca. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or anonymously at www.nlcrimestoppers.com.

It is an offence under the Wild Life Act to harvest a big game animal out of season, without a licence or in an area that is not open to hunting. If charged and subsequently convicted for a first offence, the maximum penalty for hunting moose during a closed season is $5,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, and prohibition from holding a big game licence for five years from the date of conviction. It is also an offence under the Wild Life Act, for wildlife taken or killed for food, to willfully or intentionally allow the flesh of that wildlife to be destroyed, wasted, or spoiled.

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