Eight Americans pay hefty price for illegal moose hunting in northern Ontario

An Ontario court has fined 20 defendants, including eight Americans, a total of $178,400 and ordered them to pay $44,525 in surcharges for a variety of moose-hunting violations.

In addition, the court issued 59 years of hunting licence suspensions.

Court heard that Robert A. Green, Robert W. Green, Bob Green’s Fly-in Camps and Green Airways Ltd. operate a fly-in-only tourist outfitting business, with a main lodge on Mamakwash Lake, northeast of Red Lake.

An investigation by conservation officers determined that Robert A. Green, with the assistance of Robert W. Green, guided clients in wildlife management units where the clients were not licensed, directed clients to shoot moose from power boats and knowingly assisted with the retrieval and possession of moose killed illegally by these clients.

The defendants falsified mandatory tourist industry moose hunter reports to conceal the fact moose were killed without licenses.

Robert A. Green and Robert W. Green directed clients of the businesses to make false statements and obstruct conservation officers in efforts to conceal the illegal nature in which moose were killed. In total, approximately 12 moose were taken unlawfully as a result of the defendant’s illegal acts.

Bob Green’s Fly-in Camps. of Red Lake pleaded guilty to hunting moose without a licence, discharging a firearm from a motorboat, possessing wildlife illegally killed, making a false statement in a document, and obstructing a conservation officer. The business was fined a total of $32,500.

Its website offers customers "hunting in a true wilderness setting. You will be hunting in the heavily populated moose country of Northwestern Ontario."

Green Airways also pleaded guilty to the same charges The corporation received a suspended sentence and the tourism moose tag shares and bear management areas held by the corporation were revoked.

Robert A. Green of Red Lake also pleaded guilty to the same charges and received $30,000 in fines, a five-year hunting licence suspension and is prohibited from guiding big game hunters for two years.

Matt and Janelle’s Nungesser Lake Lodge, Matt Kehoe, and Janelle Kehoe pleaded guilty to unlawfully buying a licence and hunting a bull and cow moose without a licence. The corporation was fined $20,000 and received a two-year prohibition on guiding or providing services to big game hunters.

Chad Dunham of Mitchell, Indiana, pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting a swimming bull and cow moose while using a motorboat, hunting moose during a closed season and hunting a bull moose without a licence. He was fined $16,200 and received a 12-year hunting licence suspension.

Robert W. Green of Red Lake pleaded guilty to hunting moose without a licence, discharging a firearm from a motorboat, possessing wildlife illegally killed, making a false statement in a document and obstructing a conservation officer. He received $12,500 in fines, a five-year hunting licence suspension and is prohibited from guiding big game hunters for two years.

Andrew Brown of Oshawa pleaded guilty to hunting a bull moose without a licence, discharging a firearm from a motorboat and possessing illegally killed wildlife. He was fined $12,000 and received a four-year hunting licence suspension.

Richard Brassard of Thunder Bay pleaded guilty to hunting two bull moose without a licence. He was fined $10,000 and received a five-year hunting licence suspension.

Michael Allen of Lebanon, Indiana, pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting a swimming bull and cow moose using a motorboat. He was fined $9,000 and received a 10-year hunting licence suspension.

Anthony Alberson of Bloomfield, Indiana, pleaded guilty to hunting moose during a closed season and hunting a bull moose without a licence. He received a $7,200 fine and received a two-year hunting licence suspension.

Mark Mater of Oshawa pleaded guilty to hunting a bull moose without a licence and possessing wildlife illegally killed. He was fined $7,000 and received a five-year hunting licence suspension.

Jeff Imrie of Red Lake pleaded guilty to hunting a bull moose without a licence. He was fined $5,000.

Clayton Jackson of Wetumpka, Alabama, pleaded guilty to hunting a bull moose without a licence. He was fined $4,200 and received a two-year hunting licence suspension.

Marlin Turley and Sounda Turley of Afton, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to hunting a bull and cow moose without a licence. They were each fined $3,000, and both received a five-year hunting licence suspension.

Tyler Simpson of Lindsay pleaded guilty to possessing an illegally killed bull moose and was fined $3,000. He received a one-year hunting license suspension.

Daniel Bash of Poland, Indiana, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing an illegally killed bull moose. He was fined $3,000 and received a one-year hunting licence suspension.

Michael Casper of Elkader, Indiana, pleaded guilty to hunting a bull moose without a licence and possessing wildlife illegally killed. He was fined $800 and received a two-year hunting licence suspension.

All 20 guilty pleas were heard by various Justices of the Peace in 2023 and 2024, in the Ontario Court of Justice in Red Lake.