HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. – B.C.’s director of civil forfeiture says that a Hudson’s Hope man should lose his truck, trailer, and boat due to an incident in 2017.
According to an article in the Vancouver Sun, the provincial agency has filed a lawsuit against Justin Thibault.
Thibault was caught after shooting at a paper deer decoy set up by conservation officers.
In the fall of 2017, conservation officers in the Peace region had received reports of illegal night hunting in the Farrell Creek area. Officers staked out the area and had discovered that Thibault was using his vehicle for hunting during prohibited hours with the aid of an illuminating device.
This led conversation officers to set up the decoy paper deer on November 5th, 2017. Officers watched from various locations and observed Thibault attend the location in his vehicle and use lights before shooting twice at the decoy with a rifle. This method of hunting is known as ‘pit lamping’ and is illegal.
Police say Thibault drove towards two officers who activated their emergency lights; he turned the vehicle around and fled at a high rate of speed. Thibault also drove through a ditch.
In April of this year, Thibault was fined $4,750 in Fort St. John provincial court. He was also given a five-year hunting ban.
Thibault has previously been in trouble regarding the Wildlife Act. For example, in June 2020, RCMP confiscated a caged black bear cub as part of a theft investigation. He had also previously been in court for allegedly harassing an Elk on the Peace River in Hudson’s Hope in 2019. For this occurrence, conservation officers seized his boat.
According to the Sun article, the government lawsuit states that Thibault’s 2001 Jetcraft boat and 2004 Carni boat trailer should be forfeited as they’ve been used to illegally fish for bull trout several times between 2015 and 2019.
Stay connected with local news
Make us your
home page
