The province of Ontario has recently moved to more of a do-it-yourself type of deer tag. What was once a heavily-laminated yellow tag with a detachable portion for affixing to a deer has now become a piece of paper printed off at home.
A move many refer to as somewhat of an honor system type of tag (only print one, please!) has proven to not be so honorable, at least in a select few cases. While the majority of hunters are happy to pay for tags and abide by the rules, there will always be those that will take the opportunity to exploit a less-than-perfect set up.
This was the case earlier last fall when conservation officers stopped Ernie Coulas while conducting a routine vehicle patrol in Bangor Township in Hastings County. Entering a hunt camp, officers first made contact with Coulas who told them that he had been wolf hunting. After a quick inspection, officers determined that Coulas was in possession of a 2022 deer tag which the accused failed to surrender at the time of inspection.
The actions prompted the officers to investigate further. Following a visit to a local butcher shop where Coulas had taken his deer, officers were able to recover the very same 2022 tag. The officers later uncovered two additional copies of a deer tag – one he had made the morning before he went hunting and another one he kept at his home.
In addition to having ‘multiple’ tags at his disposal, Coulas was also found to be hunting deer without a license.
Coulas was fined $6,000 for possessing copied (counterfeit) deer tags as well as hunting without a license.
