A busy long weekend for conservation officers included 100 orders to vacate closed parks

It was a bit of a different May long weekend with COVID-19 restrictions still in place and it meant that BC conservation officers had a bit more to keep their eye on.

Along with the usual violations regarding hunting, fishing, wildlife encounters and more, conservation officers had to monitor provincial parks.

While many of those parks have reopened, there are still a handful that are closed and camping is not allowed in provincial parks until June 1.

With regards to those rules, there were 100 orders to vacate given over the weekend.

Overall, there were 190 charges and 170 warnings issued in relation to illegal camping, entering closed parks, off-road vehicles, angling, hunting, firearms and wildlife.

Notable incidents included a cow and calf moose killed illegally in the Peace region, which led to the moose being seized and pending charges.

There were also two tickets handed out for people attracting dangerous wildlife in the Omineca and Kootenay regions.

In total, the public reported 103 incidents to the Conservation Officer Service’s RAPP line over the three-day weekend.