An Alberta outfitter has been fined $10,000 for charges resulting from a 2015 Yukon moose hunt.

Blake Jordan Shmyr, 35, was convicted Friday of charges under the Yukon Wildlife Act for making a false declaration on a Yukon hunting licence and therefore hunting in the territory while not allowed.

He was also convicted of a charge under the federal Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act for transporting a moose cape and antlers from the Yukon to Alberta while violating the territorial regulations.

The charges stem from Shmyr’s hunting trip with a Yukon outfitter between Sept. 25 and Oct. 5, 2015 where he shot a moose near the Pelly mountains.

At the time, Shmyr’s Alberta hunting privileges had been suspended. This was the result of a six-year suspension issued by court order in 2009 after Shmyr had pled guilty to two charges for the illegal sale of big game antlers.

In the Yukon, as of April 1, 2015, anyone with a hunting suspension in another jurisdiction cannot legally obtain a Yukon hunting licence. Notice was given to outfitters of this impending policy in 2013.

And there is a declaration on Yukon hunting licences where hunters acknowledge that they can legally possess the licence and are not prohibited from hunting in other jurisdictions. Making a false declaration invalidates a licence.

Didn’t read

Shmyr said he did not thoroughly read the declaration before signing his hunting licence.

He added that he was unaware that his suspension in Alberta would have prevented him from hunting in the Yukon, as he had been able to legally hunt in the Northwest Territories.

During trial, Kirby Meister, the Yukon government’s manager of field operations in Dawson City, testified about the process to obtain a Yukon hunting licence.

Because hunters travel from all over the world to wilderness base camps, he said, outfitters are permitted to pick up hunting licences for their clients.

“It’s an honour system, essentially,” Meister explained, noting there are 18 conservation officers in the territory responsible for 19 to 20 outfitting areas.

There are a handful of cases every year, Meister added, where hunting licences are issued to people who are not qualified.

He said they are currently rolling out an electronic licensing system.

Defence lawyer Joni Ellerton pointed out that the declaration was on hunting licences well before the policy went into effect.

She argued that if Shmyr was convicted, it would mean anyone who had previously hunted in the Yukon while suspended elsewhere would have also had to make a false declaration.

Deputy Judge Herman Seidemann III, however, found that while the declaration was on licences for many years, it was not enforced nor applied until the policy was enacted.

“The law did not change in April 2015; the enforcement did,” he said.

Seidemann also said the onus was on Shmyr to make sure that his behaviour was lawful.

He found that Shmyr did not make the effort to learn about the Yukon regulations nor whether his Alberta suspension would apply.

“He is someone who is supposed to know the rules,” Seidemann said, noting that Shmyr operates an outfitting business.

The investigation in the case was triggered after Shmyr posted details about and photos of the 2015 Yukon hunt on the Facebook page for his outfitting operation, Big Tine Adventures.

During trial, Meister noted that detailed social media posts often alert conservation officers to potential infractions.

“It’s surprising how often we see information arising from those things,” he said.

Kelly Moran, a fish and wildlife officer in Alberta, testified that he obtained a warrant to search Shmyr’s home in September 2016 to locate the moose antlers and cape.

Shmyr told officers he was surprised to learn about the investigation.

He co-operated and showed Moran the antlers mounted on his wall. Initially, he said that he had disposed of the moose cape but later admitted that it had gone with a taxidermist to Smithers, B.C.

Moran said no export permit was issued for the transport of the cape between Alberta and B.C., as required.

On cross-examination, he explained that the shipper is required to have a permit, in this case the taxidermist, but often clients in these instances are the ones who apply for it.

“What I will tell you is Mr. Shmyr was charged with that offence,” he said.

Crown prosecutor Lee Kirkpatrick argued that Shmyr should be given fines totalling $12,000 for the charges.

Previous violations

She cited Shmyr’s previous convictions related to hunting violations and said the sentence should show this type of behaviour will not be tolerated in the Yukon.

Kirkpatrick also asked that Shmyr be required to post about the convictions and fines on his outfitting Facebook page for three months.

This would show those seeking to do business with Shmyr that he is “someone to be looked at twice,” she said.

Ellerton, however, said these fines would be “unduly harsh,” and that an amount closer to $500 to $1,000 would be more reasonable.

“It wasn’t a calculated and deliberate act; it was a mistake which has since been rectified,” she said.

She noted that since having his Alberta hunting privileges reinstated, Shmyr has hunted twice in the Yukon with no infractions.

Ellerton also argued that forcing Shmyr to post about the conviction on his Facebook page would hurt his business.

In a statement to the court, Shmyr acknowledged that when he was younger he had not shown respect for environmental laws and had “paid dearly for it.”

But since then, he said, he has become a family man and business owner who has taken efforts to comply with the laws.

“I’ve been really proud of myself with making steps in the right direction,” he said.

‘Criminally careless’

Seidemann accepted that it wasn’t Shmyr’s intention to break the law when he came to the Yukon to hunt in 2015. But he said that Shmyr was “criminally careless” for not doing his research.

He noted that because Shmyr is an outfitter, the message has to be sent that hunting infractions will be punished in the Yukon.

“You’re a professional, you have a duty and you don’t get away scot-free,” he said.

He sentenced Shmyr to fines of $5,000 for the false declaration, $2,000 for hunting while prohibited and $3,000 for the Trade Act offence.

Shmyr will also be required to post about the convictions and fines on his business Facebook page from Nov. 1, 2017 to Jan. 31, 2018.

He is also prohibited from hunting in the Yukon for three years. That will impact his hunting rights in jurisdictions that practise reciprocity like Alberta.

Finally, he must forfeit the moose antlers to the Yukon Crown.

“I’m really hopeful that you have learned your lesson, Sir,” Seidemann told Shmyr.

“You’re a professional and you’re not supposed to make mistakes.”