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A Southern Ontario man has pleaded guilty to careless use of a firearm in connection to an incident last year, where Mark Upton of McDougall, Ontario shot a moose decoy while on a forestry road.

Conservation Officers were conducting a moose decoy operation on Dog River Road, Northwest of Thunder Bay, on October 17th 2021. This was in response to past instances of unsafe hunting practices in the same area. Officers were controlling traffic on the roadway when Upton, using a high powered rifle, shot down the road at the decoy while he was standing on the road.

The case was heard on April 6th of this year.

Upton has received $6500 in fines and a one-year hunting licence suspension. As well he is required to successfully complete the Ontario hunter education course before he will be able to purchase another hunting licence.