Man fined nearly $5K and handed year B.C. hunting ban after shooting elk near Fort St. John road

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A man has been sentenced in a Fort St. John court for violation of firearms laws stemming from an incident in 2024.

The BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) said officers were called to an area near Upper Cache Road, near Fort St. John, on September 29th, 2024 after receiving reports about a hunter who had killed a female elk within the vicinity of the roadway.

In a Facebook post, BCCOS said David Douglas Cake (born 1964) was sentenced in court on March 2nd, after entering a guilty plea to a charge of discharging a firearm in a no-shooting area within the road allowance of a highway, contrary to section 32 of the Wildlife Act.

He was fined $4,999 – according to Court Services Online (CSO) – and the BCCOS said he was banned from hunting for an entire year and required to re-take the C.O.R.E. hunting program offered by the B.C. Wildlife Federation.

A majority of the fine will be paid to the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, according to the BCCOS.

CSO lists that Cake also received a victim surcharge of $0.05, to go towards helping the victims of a crime.

The BCCOS said the elk was seized during the course of the investigation, with perishable portions donated to local First Nations.