A Saguenay citizen received a $3,800 fine despite posting on a Spotted his desire to buy a pie with moose and partridge meat for a family dinner. However, the man did not know that it was illegal to buy or sell wild meat.
Jocelyn Chapdelaine had no bad intentions with her release “Spotted.” In January, the Saguenay resident just wanted a freshly made moose and partridge cake for a family dinner of 20 to 25 people. However, his search was unsuccessful. All he received was the message that he had to abandon the project for good.
“A disproportionate investigation”?
Two months later, three wildlife officers knocked on the door of his home with a search warrant to search his cell phone.
Those agents also told him he had to pay a $3,800 fine even though he tried to buy venison pie through social media. However, let us remember that Mr. Chapdelaine never received this tourtière. “I’ve never eaten cake before! I offered to search the freezers, I don’t have any moose!” he explains.
Mr Chapdelaine quickly appealed the fine and received help from a lawyer. “It is an investigative tool that is completely disproportionate to the crime committed,” explains Me Sylvain Morissette, Jocelyn Chapdelaine’s lawyer.
“Are you kidding?”
Mr Chapdelaine is completely outraged by this fine he has received from wildlife agents. “You read my rights. Is this a joke? I’m being deceived, that’s for sure!” he says.
Wildlife officials reportedly mentioned that this action was as “serious as poaching.”
The judge ultimately ruled in favor of the wildlife officials and Jocelyn Chapdelaine must pay a $3,800 fine.