https://www.whitehorsestar.com...-of-kill-on-facebook



Hunter posted photos of kill on Facebook

An Alaskan hunter is looking at a possible fine of $12,500 after pleading guilty to shooting a Fannin sheep in the Yukon four years ago and claiming it was an American ram.

By Tim Giilck on January 7, 2022


An Alaskan hunter is looking at a possible fine of $12,500 after pleading guilty to shooting a Fannin sheep in the Yukon four years ago and claiming it was an American ram.

Donald Lee appeared virtually in territorial court this morning in what was supposed to be a guilty plea and a sentencing submission.

Instead, Lee and Crown prosecutor Noel Sinclair couldn’t agree on a joint sentencing submission.

Sinclair suggested a $12,500 fine, while Lee said he would be happier with the minimum $5,000 fine and a lengthy hunting prohibition.

That disagreement came after Judge Karen Ruddy explained to Lee that he didn’t have to go along with Sinclair’s submission.

The basic facts in the case are fairly simple.

On. Aug. 13, 2017, Lee was hunting in the border region west of Dawson City near Harrison Creek. He had come in from Alaska after several days of boating and hiking.

It’s an area he said he’s hunted for nine years. The court was told it’s a very remote area.

Lee saw a Fannin sheep ram, and after a short stalk, shot it.

Lee told the court that while he knew he was near the border, which is marked by a clear-cut strip six metres wide, he thought the ram was on the Alaskan side.

After he dropped the ram with a single shot, he went to retrieve it – and realized it was on the Yukon side of the border.

After pondering briefly what he should do, he butchered the animal and packed it back to the Alaskan side.

Lee had the head and front of the chest mounted and filed a report as if the animal had been shot in Alaska.

His deception wasn’t revealed until a year later – when Lee posted photos of the sheep on a Facebook page for sheep hunters.

Every digital photo has data attached to it that reveal the geographic location where it was taken, among other things, if you know what to look for.

In this instance, the photo or photos showed the photo had been taken in the Yukon about 120 metres from the border.

An anonymous tip was sent to wildlife authorities in Canada, and an investigation commenced.

Lee acknowledged in the early stages of the investigation what he had done.

He called it one of a series of bad decisions involving the sheep.

He said he now wishes he could have found a way to contact Canadian officials about the sheep at the time.

The investigation took many months to wrap up, and involved Alaskan wildlife officials. It took even longer for the case to come to court.

Today marked Lee’s first appearance.

The mounted sheep was seized, and will be forfeited by Lee.

Judge Ruddy deferred her ruling until next Friday afternoon.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:


Lee acknowledged in the early stages of the investigation what he had done.

He called it one of a series of bad decisions involving the sheep.

He said he now wishes he could have found a way to contact Canadian officials about the sheep

Sure he does.... now, after getting his ass in a sling.

He shot it something like 120 yards over the border. If his ego hadn’t forced him to brag about it(by posting pictures on the internet) he would likely be gazing up at his sheep while sipping whiskey well into old age.

We are our own worst enemies...

Read. What a debacle. I can do is lower my head and shake it.

I want to believe he did not know where the Ram stood. I honestly, do not believe that. I am speculate he used OnX or something like that to get in there. Sounds like if he had taken the pictures on the Alaska side, the phone camera would have recorded as being in Alaska, but if he had the tracker on OnX it would have recorded him crossing into Canada. I wonder if the cell phone would have pinged or somehow recorded him crossing into Canada just from the cell phone perspective?

Times are so different than they were in the 50s and back. I am sure a lot of great trophies have been killed just over the line in history. However, we cannot engage in this behavior. We must make sure. That is not because of how hunting is portrayed, but because making sure or letting it walk was always the right thing to do, and how the game is supposed to be played.

When one does not kill game, the person does not loose. We have a kill game equals victory mindset. Add that mindset to commercial motivation (not alleged here), and bad choices are made.

What a dope.

Seems the easier lie would be to say he shot it on the correct side…it ran over to the other side and keeled over?

petty bullshit.
do they really expect a guy to be walking around the middle of nowhere with his phone in front of his face?
or to be stopping looking at the animal and then rummaging through his pack for a gps unit.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
petty bullshit.
do they really expect a guy to be walking around the middle of nowhere with his phone in front of his face?
or to be stopping looking at the animal and then rummaging through his pack for a gps unit.

I see the BS as going the other way. The guy knew where he was. Sure, he said that he didn’t know until after the fact, but criminals rarely own their intent.

And there is a 6 meter clearcut marking the border.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
I see the BS as going the other way. The guy knew where he was. Sure, he said that he didn’t know until after the fact, but criminals rarely own their intent.

And there is a 6 meter clearcut marking the border.

I agree with you 100%, But Rock is tough to CLEAR CUT??

Ah, facebook!

The guy sound like he really knew what he was doing and had to go on and brag about it on the internet.

I want to feel bad for any hunter who "makes a mistake" but not for guys who knowingly break the rule to fuel their ego.

Zeke

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
Ah, facebook!

The guy sound like he really knew what he was doing and had to go on and brag about it on the internet.

I want to feel bad for any hunter who "makes a mistake" but not for guys who knowingly break the rule to fuel their ego.

Zeke

A few years ago a gentleman came here asking for recommendations for a safari.

He got what he wanted, went on safari and had a great time.

He mentioned FB.

I told him not to post his hunt there.

He did not listen.

He got hounded out!

Still cheaper than a guided hunt. Course no horns for the wall now.
Have to think this guy knew what he did.

quote:

Originally posted by AustinGuy:
Still cheaper than a guided hunt. Course no horns for the wall now.
Have to think this guy knew what he did.

That depends on how much extra he paid in legal fees and what value he places on his ability to hunt in the future

quote:

He mentioned FB.

I told him not to post his hunt there.

He did not listen.

He got hounded out!

Sage advice.

More info with photos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada...fz=medium%3Dsharebar

He was definitely in the wrong but I could see that if you were a 3-400 yards away you might not see the cut line depending on your positioning