Lower Mainland man fined 6K for shooting deer with crossbow in Princeton

A man who used a crossbow to shoot two mule deer in downtown Princeton in the middle of the night last year has been fined $6,000.

The man was visiting Princeton from the Lower Mainland in October 2020 when the offence took place, according to a B.C. Conservation Officer Service media release.

RCMP were initially contacted by a witness who was concerned to see a man walking around with a crossbow in a residential neighbourhood close to midnight.

An investigation was launched and taken over by conservation officers.

They discovered one of the deer was dead the evening it was shot, while the second deer was observed the following day with a bolt lodged in its chest. Conservation officers were forced to euthanize the animal.

READ MORE: B.C. Conservation Officers cracking the whip on bad behaviour in the bush this weekend

The man recently plead guilty to several charges under the B.C. Wildlife Act – hunting without reasonable consideration for the lives, safety or property of other persons, hunting during a closed season and hunting during prohibited hours.

Most of the $6,000 penalty will support the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. The offender also forfeited his crossbow, and has been ordered to retake the hunter training program called Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education, or CORE for short.

The conservation service hopes the punishment will deter similar activities from happening, and reminds the public that hunting at night in a residential area is especially unsafe.

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