Former guide pleads guilty to Wildlife Act offences in Cranbrook Provincial Court

Richard Bunnage has received a $22,000 penalty and 10-year guiding prohibition after pleading guilty in Cranbrook.

Bunnage was an assistant guide near Fort Nelson and pleaded guilty to guiding outside the guide territory and knowingly making a false statement in a report.

An investigation between 2019 and 2021 by the Conservation Officer Service (COS) found he guided several non-resident hunters in areas outside the territory he was authorized to guide in.

The COS said he also falsely recorded the management unit where clients had harvested two moose and two black bears on required guide declarations.

This was not Bunnage’s first offence.

Back in 2022, he pleaded guilty to his involvement in illegal guiding operations in B.C. where a moose and black bear were illegally harvested.

He was given a $9,200 fine in that case.


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Josiah Spyker
Josiah Spyker
Josiah is an integral part of our East Kootenay team. Since joining Vista Radio in 2021, he has combined his love of community and sport in his reporting for the news team, while also stepping in as an on-air announcer.

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