It's no surprise that many conservation officers are outdoor enthusiasts who like to hunt or fish and watch videos of others doing the same. A Saskatchewan conservation officer (CO) wasn't looking for Wildlife Act violations when he clicked on a YouTube video of a bull moose hunt in the Hudson Bay area. But the officer noticed possible hunting infractions.
The video set off a chain of events leading to physical evidence and a lengthy investigation resulting in a range of hunting violation charges and, ultimately, guilty pleas for two Saskatchewan brothers, David and Steven Ostapiw. They were fined $6,220 in total and banned from hunting for one year. A news release from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment says the brothers pleaded guilty and were fined at a May 13 appearance in Melfort provincial court.
It was happenstance the CO clicked on the video, but it was experience that kept the investigation going, said Ryan Reimer, inspector for the provincial Conservation Officer Service. "We're hunters and fishers ourselves," Reimer said. "A lot of times we will follow certain [social media] accounts and look at videos and it was an officer's keen eye in this instance that picked up a potential violation.
" Investigations launched by social media sleuthing isn't common, but is becoming more frequent, Reimer said. They're getting more tips from the public based on social media posts, he added. And hunters love to brag.
"Hunters are proud of what they shoot and in most of the cases everything is legal and done properly, and they just want to show off their trophy animal," Reimer said. "There is the odd time where unbeknownst to them, maybe they post something that officers key on it as something that isn't quite right." David (right) and Steven Ostapiw in a still image from a YouTube video of a hunting trip.
The video launched an investigation that led to the brothers pleading guilty to a range of Saskatchewan Wildlife Act violations. (ostacruiser/YouTube) David Ostapiw pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting, unlawfully possessing antlers without a seal attached, failing to wear hunting colours, using another person's game seal, and providing false information to an officer. Steven Ostapiw pleaded guilty to allowing his game seal to be used by another person and providing false information to an officer.
David said in an email that there isn't much to explain. "It was a very simple case, we went out with 2 valid tags and I shot the moose without my name on one of the tags. It's called party hunting, legal in Alberta but not in Saskatchewan.
Lesson learned, we will pay our fines and move on a little bit more informed." Steven declined to comment when reached by phone. "There's not much more to say," he said.
A transcript of the proceedings in Melfort provincial court was not immediately available. The video is posted to David Ostapiw's YouTube account, which has more than 800,000 subscribers. The video itself has more than 800,000 views, and many of his videos surpass one million views.
David posts videos of himself and others riding ATVs through mud and other rough terrain, while some content features hunting and other outdoor hobbies. Comments from viewers on the post range from admiration for a successful hunt to condemnation. Some take issue with killing an animal, others criticize the brothers for the hunting gear and techniques — in other words, so-called glamping for hunters.
One comment reads, "This is all that's wrong with hunting. Drive up to a moose in [an ATV], shoot moose, brag about how great we are. What a waste of a beautiful animal.
No skill." The account posted the moose hunt video in November 2022 and came to the attention of wildlife officials two months later. Investigators recognized the general location of the hunt, but needed more evidence.
COs used a warrant to seize a gun, electronics, moose meat and antlers from a Prince Albert home in March 2023. The antlers were a match for the dead bull moose in the video, and information taken from the electronics narrowed down the location. They eventually found the "kill site" and recovered shell casings, which were a forensic match to the gun seized earlier.
In the video's comments section, David writes he shot the moose with a Ruger Precision Rifle .308. While COs weren't working off a public tip in this case, Reimer said the service needs the public to keep an eye out "We do our best with what we have to protect the wildlife within the province," Reimer said.
"We rely heavily on the public to provide us information through our tip line or contact with our front office ...
They're our eyes and ears out there.".
