Moose hunting YouTube video ends with major fines for 2 Sask. men

Next time you are going hunting and want to share your memories online, you might want to make sure you are hunting legally.

A moose hunting video posted online has led to two Saskatchewan men being fined more than $6,000 in provincial court.

David Ostapiw of Prince Albert pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting, unlawfully possessing wildlife, failing to wear hunting colours, using another person’s game seal and providing false information to an officer. He was fined $4,570.

Steven Ostapiw of Saskatoon pleaded guilty to allowing his game seal to be used by another person, providing false information to an officer and falsifying a hunter harvest survey. He was fined $1,650.

Both men received one-year hunting suspensions.

The legal battle began in January 2023 after a conservation officer from the Greenwater Lake area watched a YouTube video of the hunting trip near Hudson Bay in November 2022.

A bull moose was shot and harvested in the video and the officer did not believe the hunter had a valid licence. They instead used another person’s game seal.

The investigation led officers to a home near Prince Albert in March 2023, where they collected a gun, electronic media devices, moose meat and antlers.

“A forensic analysis of the electronic devices led officers to the kill site,” the province said in a press release.

“In May 2023, nearly six months after the moose was harvested, officers conducted an extensive search of the area and managed to locate expended rifle cartridge casings. The casings were a forensic match for the firearm used in the offence.”

People who suspect wildlife, fisheries, forestry or environmental violations are asked to call Saskatchewan’s toll-free Turn In Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line at 1-800-667-7561 or report violations online.