A former assistant hunting guide near Fort Nelson has been ordered to pay a penalty and will be prohibited from guiding for 10 years after violating the Wildlife Act, the Conservation Officer Service says.
Richard Todd Bunnage pleaded guilty on Tuesday to three offences, including guiding outside the territory where he was permitted to do so and making false statements in a report.
“During the investigation that took place between 2019 and 2021, Conservation Officers in the Fort Nelson area determined that Bunnage guided several non-resident hunters in areas outside the territory he was authorized to guide in,” the service said in a post on social media.
“Further, Bunnage falsely recorded the management unit where clients had harvested two moose and two black bears on required guide declarations.”
The service says he was fined $12,000, plus he was ordered to pay an additional $10,000 to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.
This was not Bunnage’s first time receiving a penalty after a Conservation Officer investigation. The service says he pleaded guilty in May 2022 for his involvement in illegal guiding operations. This plea included the illegal harvesting of a moose and a black bear.