A Langham man recently pleaded guilty in Saskatoon provincial court to seven charges under The Wildlife Act, Fisheries Regulations, Natural Resources Act and the Criminal Code. He was fined a total of $16,080 and handed a three year firearms prohibition, probation and a lifetime hunting suspension.
In March 2016, Ministry of Environment conservation officers in Saskatoon became aware of a possible illegal outfitting company called, “In The Stix Bear Camp”. The initial investigation revealed that an individual, who had been actively advertising bear hunts on social media since 2015, was using an inactive outfitting camp in northern Saskatchewan as a front to advertise his services as an outfitter.
A lengthy investigation, assisted by investigators from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, discovered that in fall 2016 this individual provided outfitting services for an American client to hunt black bear along the North Saskatchewan River near Langham, and to fish at Blackstrap Reservoir south of Saskatoon.
Steven Bullock, age 36, pleaded guilty to charges of outfitting and advertising without a licence, exceeding the possession limit of fish, breaching a 10 year firearms prohibition order, possession of firearms without a Possession Acquisition Licence, and two counts of falsifying hunting/outfitting licenses.
Bullock received a lifetime ban from applying for or obtaining a big game licence, game bird licence or fur licence. Anyone charged and convicted of a suspendable wildlife infraction on three separate occasions receives an automatic lifetime hunting suspension.
Along with other probationary conditions, he also received a three year ban from owning or possessing a firearm or ammunition and must contact a conservation officer prior to accompanying anyone who will be hunting.
Bullock must abide by the strict conditions of a Probation Order and Conditional Sentence Order.