Two Sundre youths caught hunting without adult supervision have been fined and ordered to write an essay for the court on hunting ethics.
The 17-year-old boys were convicted and fined for firearm and liquor violations following guilty pleas in Didsbury provincial court.
The youths were questioned by Sundre Fish and Wildlife officer Adam Mirus during a routine roadside hunter check southeast of Eagle Hill, east of Sundre, on Nov. 26.
The officer found a loaded rifle in the vehicle, as well as open liquor, he said.
The youths told the officer they had been hunting deer near the roadway.
The boys' parents were called to the scene where the father of one of the boys identified the rifle as belonging to him.
One of the boys pleaded guilty to a charge under the Wildlife Act of hunting under 18 years of age without supervision and both pleaded guilty to possession of liquor. The first boy was fined $402 and the other $287.
As well as the fines, the boys were ordered to write the essay for the court.
In that essay, the boys said, in part: “There are so many things that can go wrong under the influence of alcohol such as death, accidently firing at an unsafe target, and just being dumb and irresponsible with something (firearms) that is designed to harvest animals (and) shouldn't be used under a state of influence to avoid the many potential dangers that could easily happen when drinking.”
Officer Mirus says having the boys write the essay “makes them more accountable for their actions.”
In a separate case, a 17-year-old Sundre boy was fined on Feb. 21 after being caught with a loaded rifle in a vehicle near Caroline on Oct. 18.
During a routine roadside hunter check, officer Mirus found a loaded SKS rifle with the safety off lying on the floor. The rifle belonged to the boy's father.
The youth was convicted at trial of having a loaded firearm in a vehicle and was fined $115.
None of the convicted can be named.
