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November 17, 2015 - 4:30 PM
KAMLOOPS - Two men accused of killing a moose outside of hunting season are currently on trial facing charges under the province's Wildlife Act which could land them jail or fines if convicted.
Wei Guo Li and Xin Yue Xiao are both charged under the Wildlife Act with not abiding by hunting prohibitions, failing to retrieve edible portions from the animal and unlawful possession of dead wildlife. Li, from China, is charged with hunting while he was not a resident.
On the first day of their trial In Kamloops Provincial Court today, Nov. 17, Crown prosecutor Evan Goulet said the father and son first noticed the moose laying dead moose on the side of a logging road as they went on their own hunting trip near Dardanelles Lake between Kamloops and Merritt.
Goulet said after noticing the moose, the pair noticed a silver truck before they drove to the end of the road. When they turned around and drove back, Goulet said, the pair saw two men attempting to load the moose into the back of the silver truck.
“This time they see the same truck backed up to the moose with two Asian men trying to load the moose up to the truck. (The father and son) believe it’s not moose season,” Goulet said.
The son, Kyle Carusi, later reported the truck and its license plate via the Conservation poacher line.
Carusi, who was called as Crown’s first witness, said he felt the moose the first time he saw it and remembers the body was cold. He said he took pictures of the moose and noticed an exit wound. When the pair later came across the two men he said he congratulated them and asked if they shot it. He said one replied ‘yeah’.
You could see where it had been dragged out of the bush. They must have used cable. There was no way you would be able to drive in there. There was too much debris in the way," he said adding he noticed a winch or a type of pulley system rigged up on the back of the truck. “(They) seemed kinda shifty. More like didn’t want to talk to me at all."
The trial is scheduled for four days — a lengthier term due to the fact both accused are hearing evidence in Mandarin via two interpreters.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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