Provincial posted Jun 23, 2024 @ 06:00pm by Corvin Vaski

BC hunting guide receives a 10-year ban and a $22K fine

A BC hunting guide will not be leading any tours for a significant amount of time after receiving a 10-year ban and a $22,000 fine in the Cranbrook Provincial Court last week.

Richard Todd Bunnage, a former assistant guide near Fort Nelson, pleaded guilty to three Wildlife Act offences, including guiding outside a guide territory and knowingly making a false statement in a report.

<who> Photo Credit: BCOS/Facebook

“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,” reads a social media post by the BC Conservation Officer Service.

“Further, Bunnage falsely recorded the management unit where clients had harvested two moose and two black bears on required guide declarations.”

Bunnage was fined $12,000 plus a victim surcharge and ordered to pay an additional $10,000 to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.

He was also prohibited from serving as a guide outfitter or as an assistant guide for 10 years in BC.

This was not Bunnage’s first run-in with the BCOS. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to his involvement in illegal guiding operations of Tenaka River Guide Service.

Bunnage was fined $9,200 because a moose and black bear were illegally harvested on a hunt.

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