Newfoundland Sportsman's Dwight Blackwood 'disgusted' at B.C. moose rider video
A well-known hunter from Newfoundland and Labrador hopes the British Columbia man who was filmed riding on a moose is caught and severely punished.
A video of the stunt has been making the rounds on social media and is getting lots of reaction — but hunter and filmmaker Dwight Blackwood, of the Newfoundland Sportsman television show and magazine, was not impressed.
"I just hope the wildlife department in British Columbia throws the book at them," he told CBC's Here and Now.
"Whatever they can put out in the form of punishment."
The video shows a boat chasing the moose through shallow water, before one of the men jumps on its back. A group of people can be heard cheering him on in the background and laughing.
Blackwood said while he is an avid hunter of all kinds of wild animals, there is no comparison to be made between hunting and what those in the video were seen doing.
"We harvest all kinds of game, both big and small," he said.
"The first and foremost thing we do — we try to kill it as humanely and as quickly as possible. These guys were doing just the opposite."
His experience being around moose has led him to conclude that what the people in the video did was not only inhumane, it was dangerous.
"Any wild animals are not accustomed to humans being at them, and as a consequence of that they could be stressed to the point of death," he said.
"From a safety perspective, what was in his mind to jump on a moose's back. I mean, one kick and he could have been killed."
"Moose have been known to kill people before."