Three hunters in Southern Ontario have been fined a steep, cumulative amount of $10,000 for hunting violations involving a moose calf. 

The three men were fined after an investigation by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry following a hunting trip in which the men illegally shot and abandoned a baby moose.

On Oct. 17, 2018, an Ontario court heard that Ralph Rende from Kilworthy, Gennaro Genovese from Toronto and Anthony Pansino from New Lowell were hunting in the area of Silver Dollar when they came across a young moose.

"Pansino pushed a moose calf from the forest, out to the ditch of Highway 599, where Rende shot the calf twice, down and across the highway," reads a statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

"Pushing is a term to describe a hunter walking through the woods, causing an animal to move in a direction away from that hunter, and in the direction of other hunters in the party."

According to the statement, Rende had inspected the moose and determined that it was a calf but shot it anyway — even though the hunting party only had a valid tag for a cow moose and calf season was not open at the time.

After shooting it, Renden then abandoned the calf and the three men left the scene, and they also deposited the rifle in a lake along the route during their drove home the following day in an effort to obstruct the investigation.

As a result, Rended was fined $1,500 for discharging a firearm down a road, $1,000 for shooting a calf during the closed season, $1,000 for abandoning the calf, $1,000 for obstruction, and $750 for making a false statement to a conservation officer. 

Genovese, meanwhile, was fined $1,500 for discharging a firearm down a road, $1,000 for shooting a calf during the closed season, and he received two fines of $750 for two counts of making a false statement to a conservation officer. 

Both men have also had their hunting licences suspended for a minimum of one year, and they have to take the Ontario Hunter Education Course before they can apply for another hunting license.

The third man, Pansino, was fined $750 dollars for making a false statement to a conservation officer.

"The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry wants to remind hunters that shooting across a road is both dangerous and illegal."

"MNRF conservation officers continue to patrol and protect our natural resources during the current COVID-19 outbreak and would like to remind everyone that by respecting seasons, sanctuaries, bag and possession limits we all help ensure our natural resources stay healthy."

This news comes after another Ontario hunter shot and killed a rare white cow moose in October, prompting outrage from the public.