Charges against ‘influencer’ poachers in BC span four hunts

Goats, sheep, elk and deer were all allegedly poached by four people named in dozens of wildlife charges announced by BC Conservation Officer Service last week.

The illegal hunts spanned from Dease Lake to 100 Mile House, Cache Creek and Princeton as the four people face a combined 43 Wildlife Act charges and ten criminal gun charges.

The BC Conservation Officer Service said two of them “operated as social media influencers,” but the extent of their influence isn’t clear as the “Backcountry Carnivores” accounts appear to have been deleted from various platforms.

Daniel Gazzola and Cole Rogozinski appear to have been behind the “influencer” accounts. Whether the hunts they will answer for in court were documented on the page isn’t known. Together, they face 31 of the Wildlife Act charges and all ten of the criminal firearm charges.

The investigation started in response to reports of gunshots near a cabin at Sheridan Lake, near 100 Mile House, according to the BC Conservation Officer Service.

But, court records indicate conservation officers tied the investigation back to hunts as early as August of that year, with Gazzola the sole person involved almost every time.

Gazolla and another man facing eight charges allegedly flew to the Dease Lake area that month, where they started their hunt within six hours of being airborne.

There they killed a female mountain goat, who was in the presence of her kid, and a thinhorn sheep, according to court records. Both were out of season.

The next month, Gazzola allegedly killed an elk. It was also out of season and he is accused of later giving a false statement about the hunt.

In October, Gazzola was in the Sheridan Lake area and twice in Cache Creek — three trips that each resulted in poaching charges.

He is accused of letting the fourth accused, Nicole Elie Rogers, use his mule deer licence in Cache Creek. They killed at least one and she was in possession of a mule deer without a licence, according to court records.

In the Sheridan Lake area, Gazzola then allegedly used Rogers’ licence for a mule deer. A kill that appears was also within 100 metres of cabins in the area, according to court records.

Gazzola returned to the Cache Creek area with Rogozinski that same month, where he continued to hunt mule deer after reaching his bag limit. Rogozinski also allegedly returned to Cache Creek on Nov. 10 to hunt mule deer beyond his bag limit after illegally harvesting deer with Gazzola.

They are both accused of giving false reports about the late-October Cache Creek hunt.

The final charge is the only one to mention a carnivore with Rogozinski accused of illegally possessing bear genetalia, separate from the carcass or hide, on Dec. 20, 2023.

It was that December day in which conservation officers might have searched both Gazolla’s and Rogozinski’s Lower Mainland homes, based on the criminal firearm charges they also face.

Together they face eight criminal charges for improper firearm storage, while Gazzola is also accused on two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm, according to court records.

The BC Conservation Officer Service did not immediately respond when asked about details of the searches.