A Beeton man’s hunting trip to Manitoulin Island took a turn after conservation officers found he had harvested a deer days before their visit while his tag continued to show as “valid.” The man was fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to failing to immediately invalidate his antlerless deer tag. Conservation officers say they were patrolling the Township of Burpee and Mills on Nov. 20, 2025, when they stopped at the group’s hunt camp. Their investigation alleged the Beeton man had shot an antlerless deer on Nov. 17, three days before officers arrived. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, he processed the deer but did not immediately invalidate his tag and continued hunting throughout the week while the tag remained valid. In Ontario, when a hunter harvests a deer, they’re generally required to immediately invalidate the tag associated with that animal. Invalidating the tag shows the tag has been used and cannot be used again. The MNR says the deer was seized and later donated to a local Indigenous community. The case was heard by Justice of the Peace Lori-Ann Toulouse in Ontario Court of Justice in Gore Bay on Feb. 19, 2026. Anyone with information about a natural resources violation can contact the ministry’s TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667.
