Canadian Hiker Brings Shotgun to National Park, Shoots Black Bear Because He Was "Scared"
Canadian man pled guilty on Wednesday to violating a federal hunting restriction in Jasper National Park, CBC News reports. The violation stems from an incident that took place in August 2022, when he brought a shotgun into the park and shot a black bear with it.
Serge Painchaud, a 42-year-old Edmonton resident, claimed in court that he didn’t know it was against the law to carry a firearm in a national park. He said he brought the shotgun along and decided to use it because he was “scared.”
Justice Rosanna Saccomani soundly rejected this defense and ordered Painchaud to pay a fine of $7,500, or roughly $5,640 USD, within a year. (The prosecuting attorney pushed for heftier fines and a two-year probation on owning firearms, but the court was lenient because Painchaud cooperated and had no criminal record.)
“[That] would apply to pretty much every single person in your situation,” Saccomani told Painchaud. “We’re all afraid of bears.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/canadian-hiker-brings-shotgun-to-national-park-shoots-black-bear-because-he-was-scared/ar-AA1dA7YY
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