Kelowna man handed $13K fine, 3-year hunting ban for illegally killing a bighorn sheep

A Kelowna man has been handed a multi-thousand dollar fine and three-year ban for hunting out of season in fall 2023.

According to the BC Conservation Officer Service (BC COS), the Heith Proulx killed a bighorn mountain sheep in October 2023 in a wildlife management area about 30 kilometres northwest of Lillooet.

The BC COS said there is no general open hunting season for full curl or mature bighorn rams in the area.

In November 2023, Proulx’s ram was inspected as required by law and he allegedly claimed the ram was killed in a different area where hunting for rams was allowed.

However, GSP coordinator later determined the ram was killed in the closed wildlife management area.

In March 2024, the BC COS spoke to Proulx at his home where he admitted he lied about where he had killed the ram.

Conservation officers seized the sheep horns and cape from a taxidermist and enlisted the help of a provincial senior wildlife biologist, Chris Procter, who helped with the case and provided an impact statement to the courts.

“The statement outlined that BC supports the entire Canadian distribution of California bighorn sheep, and the Fraser River supports approximately 50% of the California bighorn sheep in the province,” the COS said.

“The harvest of a mature ram from this closed area is contrary to conservation objectives and resulted in an overall harvest that exceeded the annual allowable harvest established to guide sustainable harvest levels.”

Procter’s statement said that non-resident hunters who want to hunt bighorn sheep rams can pay upwards to $150,000.

Ultimately, Proulx plead guilty to making a false statement about killing the ram, which is a violation under the Wildlife Act.

He received a $13,000 penalty, which will go to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, and is prohibited from hunting, or accompanying hunters, anywhere in BC for the hunting of any type of sheep for three years.

All parts of the ram were forfeited to the Crown and Proulx was ordered to retake the Conservation Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) program.