He has a home in Bonne Bay where he spends the summers, but Ontario has been his primary home for nine years, so that means Wendell Forward is no longer considered a resident of this province.
Because of that, Forward has been convicted of committing two offences under the Wildlife Act by applying for a big game licence as a resident of the province and for unlawfully possessing big game after shooting a moose in September.
Forward was fined $200 for the first offence and $1,000 for the second when he appeared — via teleconference from his home in Ontario — in provincial court in Corner Brook on Tuesday.
On Sept. 12 fish and wildlife officers, acting on an anonymous complaint, visited Forward at his Winterhouse Brook residence to investigate him for applying for a resident moose licence while being a non-resident.
Forward admitted he had been applying for big game licences for moose as a resident for the last nine years.
The officers explained that it is illegal for a non-resident to apply for a resident big game licence in the province, and to be considered a resident he would have to have lived here for six consecutive months immediately preceding the time to submit a big game application.
Officers seized bottled moose meat and organs from his home and the rest of the moose from a butcher in Reidville.
Forward, 74, told the court he thought everything was fine because of the time he spends in the province, but agreed he had committed the offences.
“I find it a very sad situation.”
He said that the night before the officers came to his door, he had decided this would be his last moose hunt.
In addition to the fines, Forward will have to pay a 30 per cent surcharge to the court, bringing the total to $1,560.
He’s also prohibited from applying for or holding a big game licence in this province for five years.
