Kamsack man found guilty of illegal hunting, fined $1,200

A Kamsack, Sask., man has been fined $1,200 after he wasfound guilty of using a spotlight to hunt, and hunting within 500 metres of a residence.

The charges stem from a 2015 incident where officers with the provincial Ministry of Environmentobserved Robert Severight, 39, using a spotlight while in his vehicle. Severight was hunting southwest of Pelly, Sask.,when he shone the light on the officers in their patrol car.

The ministry was first alerted to the hunting through a Turn In Poachers phone line call.

The officers stopped the man and determined he was hunting under his treaty rights, but Severight admitted that he did not have permission to hunt on the land he was on.

The next day, officers determined the hunting took place within 500 metres of residence.

Using spotlights to hunt is prohibited in Saskatchewan unless it is done on First Nation land, and even then it is subject to band bylaws.

The charges Severight was found guilty of fall under the Saskatchewan Wildlife Act.