B.C. man fined $50,000 for poaching mountain goat, thinhorn sheep

A Maple Ridge man has been hit with a $50,000 fine and 10-year hunting ban for several poaching infractions in B.C.

Daniel Gazzola pleaded guilty in provincial court in Kamloops to five counts under the Wildlife Act, according to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.

They include:

• Hunting and killing wildlife out of season, a female mountain goat accompanied by her kid.

• Hunting and killing wildlife out of season, a thinhorn mountain stone sheep (Dall sheep) that was under the permitted age.

• Knowingly making a false statement by filling out records at a cold storage or butcher shop.

• Hunting without consideration for the lives, safety or property of others by firing a rifle within 100 metres of several homes.

• Unlawfully hunting mule deer after having taken his season’s limit of that species.

A $10,000 fine was imposed for each count, with the majority of the penalty going to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, which provides money for conservation and education.

Gazzola is banned from hunting, buying a hunting licence or accompanying other hunters in B.C. for 10 years. He also has to write an apology to the COS.

Two others have already been sentenced for illegal hunting, while another is awaiting trial in relation to the COS investigation.

In early December, Nicole Elie Rogers pleaded guilty to one count under the Wildlife Act for allowing her hunting species licence to be used by another person. She was fined $7,000 and is banned from hunting for three years.

Cole Rogozinski was sentenced in August. He received a $7,000 penalty for knowingly making a false statement.

A fourth person, Emmanuel Porcellato, will go to trial in June 2026.

jruttle@postmedia.com

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