6 bison illegally shot on farm in hunt advertised on social media: Manitoba RCMP

A 52-year-old Portage la Prairie man has been charged with mischief and theft after police say he organized and led an illegal bison hunt on another person's farm, which he advertised on social media.

On Monday afternoon, Russell RCMP received a report that six bison had been shot and taken from a farm in the rural municipality of Russell-Binscarth, about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, near the Saskatchewan border.

Police were told by the farmer that he noticed the locks to the gates of his pasture were removed and replaced with locks that didn't belong to him, and he later discovered six of his bison were missing, Manitoba RCMP said in a Thursday news release.

Footage from trail cameras in the area showed four people, with a pickup and off-road vehicles, drove onto the farm property, shot the bison and took them from the farm, according to RCMP.

The next day, the farmer told police he had discovered a social media ad promoting a bison hunt on his property, for a fee of $1,000 per bison. The ad was not placed by victims, who were the legal owners of the bison, police say.

One of the victims told police they had posted to social media regarding the missing bison and received several responses, including from some of those who said they had shot the bison, RCMP said.

Three people who responded to the ad and took part in the illegal bison hunt reached out to investigators and told them they were under the impression that the hunt was legitimately organized, said RCMP.

All three witnesses are co-operating with police.

Russell RCMP issued a warrant for the arrest of the 52-year-old man on Wednesday. He turned himself in to Portage la Prairie RCMP later that day. 

He has been charged with theft over $5,000 and mischief over $5,000 in connection with the incident, and additional charges are likely, RCMP say.

The man was later released and has a Jan. 22, 2025, court appearance scheduled in Russell.