Star City man fined $11,500, ordered to give goose meat to Melfort-area food banks
CBC News | Posted: January 3, 2018 3:39 PM | Last Updated: January 3, 2018
Meat shop manager pleaded guilty to five counts of wildlife trafficking under Migratory Birds Act
A Star City man has been fined $11,500 for selling jerky and sausage made with poached bird meat.
The investigation, which dates back to 2014, found that a meat shop at the Star City Hutterite Colony was selling goose meat to the public.
David Tschetter, 56, manager of Star City Produce and Meats, pleaded guilty to five counts of wildlife trafficking under the Migratory Birds Act.
Tschetter was order to process 159 kg of the seized meat into sausage and give it to food banks in the area.
High volumes of bird meat, mainly from geese, had been going through the shop. During inspections, officers determined that more meat was going into the shop than could be used by residents.
The province said conservation officers had given multiple warnings, both verbal and written.
Rich Hildebrand, conservation officer with the Ministry of Environment, said despite this undercover officers visited the shop and were able to purchase goose meat on five separate occasions between 2014 and 2017.
"During that time, when the undercover officers went there, they also were told by the manager there that it was illegal to sell the meat but (he) still sold it to the undercover officers," Hildebrand said.
Hildebrand said allowing the sale of wild meat can lead to overharvesting and long-term damage to the provincial wildlife populations. The ministry said it also takes opportunities away from legitimate hunters.
Anyone with information on similar incidents is asked to call their local Ministry of Environment office or the Turn In Poachers line at 1-800-667-7561 (or #5555 for SaskTel cellular subscribers).