B.C. hunters convicted by own photos, 13 years later

Two B.C. sheep hunters have been convicted and fined after pleading guilty to an illegal hunt in the Yukon almost 13 years ago.

Prosecutors used the men's own trophy photos from their 2002 hunt to convict them.

The sentencing on May 29 was based on a joint submission from prosecutors and defence, and an agreed statement of facts.

In August 2002, the court heard, Scott Mackenzie and Michael Makasoff chartered a plane to fly south out of Whitehorse to the west end of Bennett Lake, intending to hunt on the B.C. side near the Yukon border. At the pilot's suggestion, the pair landed further west than they'd intended, where Mackenzie and Makasoff each killed a Dall sheep.

Neither realized they had crossed the border into Yukon, the court heard, as they had no GPS or maps for the alternate location on hand.

Both men were "embarrassed and remorseful" of the mistake, court heard.

Both must forfeit their sheep mounts and pay fines of $7,500 each.

Trophy on display

For years, a photo of Mackenzie's trophy sheep was displayed in the cookshack at one of his B.C. hunting camps.

That is until 2012, when someone recognized the kill site, and tipped authorities that it was not in B.C. but in the Yukon.

Investigators followed up with a helicopter trip to the site, and determined it was actually 14 kilometres inside the Yukon border.