Kelowna man fined $13,000 for hunting bighorn ram

A Kelowna man has been fined and temporarily banned from hunting after he lied about where he killed a bighorn ram.

Heith Proulx had to pay a $13,000 fine and has been banned from hunting for three years, according to a press release from the Conservation Officer Service.

He killed a bighorn mountain sheep ram near Pavilion Lake, 28 kilometres northwest of Lillooet in October 2023. The ram had to be inspected but it’s illegal to hunt them in the area where Proulx was. He said the ram was from a different area where hunting these sheep is allowed, but GPS coordinates showed the ram was from a prohibited area.

Conservation officers caught up with Proulx in March 2024 and spoke to him at his home where he confessed that he lied about where he killed the animal.

Officers seized the sheep horns and cape from a taxidermist.

A provincial senior wildlife biologist who helped with the investigation gave a statement to the courts. Chris Procter said opportunities for folks to come and hunt a single California bighorn sheep go for more than $150,000 in recent years.

The Fraser River supports roughly 50 per cent of all the California bighorn sheep in Canada, the rest are found in other parts of B.C.

Killing this sheep went over the limit for how many can be hunted each year.

Proulx pleaded guilty to making a false statement in a book, record, report or return, which is a violation under the Wildlife Act.

On top of the fine and the hunting ban he has to retake the Conservation Outdoor Recreation Education program.

Most of the money from the fine is going to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.