Listed below is one concluded court case from the "online" officer's notebook. If you would like to read all the wildlife and fisheries investigations and the final outcome of the court cases be sure to pickup your Alberta Game Warden magazine at your favorite bookstore for only $3.50. Or better yet, purchase a yearly subscription for $12.00 so you won't miss an issue.

  • Smuggled crocodiles spur joint investigation: Calgary District
  • Regina v. Genesis Exploration limited: Whitecourt District
  • Killer of animals: Barrhead District
  • Snake eyes: Edmonton District
  • Wrong answers lead to investigation: Barrhead District
  • Forensics helps convict fish poacher: Cold Lake District
  • Big fines for illegal cross border transport of deer: Barrhead District
  • Caught holding the bag: Cold Lake District
  • Illegal smelting operation nets fine and creative sentence: Edmonton District
  • Outfitter pleads guilty to unlawfully hunting black beat: Fairview District
  • Wilderness rage: Grande Prairie District
  • Shoreline alteration destroyed fish habitat: Lac La Biche District
  • No licence to hunt: Valleyview District
  • Deny deny deny: Grande Cache District
  • Fishing with illegal bait reels in fines: Red Deer District
  • Interprovincial walleye traffickers receive huge fines: Special Investigations section

Outfitter pleads guilty to unlawfully hunting black bear: Fairview District

An Alberta Outfitter-Guide pleaded guilty today in Fairview Provincial Court to two counts of hunting black bear without a valid licence and one count of using bait in a prohibited area.

In a plea agreement, Kevin Shilka, 28, of Worsley, Alberta, was fined $10,005 for providing unlawful hunting trips to two groups of non-resident hunters.

Provincial Court Judge J.R. McIntosh heard that Shilka had purchased allocations for six non-resident black bear licences valid in a Barrhead area Wildlife Management Unit. He then contracted the black bear hunting trips to two groups of non-resident hunters from Mexico and South Carolina.

Conservation officers monitored the purchase of allocations and suspected that the outfitter might attempt to use the permits in the Worsley area where his base camp operates. On May 22, 2000 conservation officers apprehended Shilka and two non-resident hunters using the Barrhead area licences near Worsley. Evidence gathered by the officers showed that the outfitter, two of his guides and six non-resident hunters were hunting black bears without valid licences and were using bait in an area where baiting is prohibited to protect the grizzly bear populations.

The harvest of big game by non-resident hunters is carefully managed by Alberta Environment through a system of allocations of hunting opportunities to licensed outfitter-guides.

In addition to the fine levied, Shilka's eligibility to obtain a recreational hunting licence was suspended for a period of one year.

We invite wildlife and fisheries enforcement officers from all jurisdictions to submit current and significant cases for inclusion in the Game Warden's Notebook segment of the publication. All details must be accurate public record. Please send the details and photographs of case files to:


THE ALBERTA GAME WARDEN

Jason Hanson
5201 - 50 Avenue
Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada T9A 0S7