Man fined $3K for illegal deer hunt, firearm offences | London Free Press
08/09/2026
An Aylmer man has been fined $3,000 after a conservation officer encountered him with a loaded, uncased firearm after legal hunting hours during a controlled deer hunt southeast of London, provincial officials say.
The man pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting deer during a controlled hunt, unlawfully possessing a firearm at night and allowing another person to unlawfully use his deer-hunting permit, Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources said in a news release.
“These actions are illegal and include unsafe firearm practices,” Ron Arnold of the ministry’s enforcement branch said in a video posted to the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The case stems from a Dec. 3, 2025 inspection in Bayham, an Elgin County municipality southeast of London. A conservation officer encountered the man during a controlled hunt limited to muzzle-loading guns, about 20 minutes after legal hunting time had ended, officials said.
The officer found the gun was loaded and not encased, the ministry said. The man also did not have a valid controlled deer hunt validation for 2025.
The investigation found his deer tag was back at a hunting camp, where another person had used it one day earlier for a deer taken during the controlled hunt. The deer and the man’s firearm were seized.
Ontario generally permits hunting from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. Outside those hours, firearms must be unloaded and encased, according to provincial hunting regulations.
“This upcoming fall hunting season, we want to remind you to hunt safe and unload your firearm and encase it after legal hunting time,” Arnold said.
The case was heard in the Ontario Court of Justice in St. Thomas on May 13.
The province asks the public to report suspected natural-resources violations to its tips line at 1-877-847-7667 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)