Lost brothers fined for Wildlife Act violations

    Two brothers from the Strathmore area who purported to be lost on their way to their hunting grounds received heavy fines relating to violations of the Alberta Wildlife Act.     Kerry Wayne Loeppky and Terry Douglas Loeppky both appeared in provincial court in Drumheller on Friday, December 10. They were each charged with hunting out of season, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and unauthorized hunting on occupied land.
    On December 9 of last year, the two brothers were hunting white tail deer in the Hanna area. The season had closed on November 28. A landowner in the area heard shots fired on his land near his cattle. He witnessed a gun being fired from a truck, took the licence plate number and called Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
    Terry Loeppky pleaded guilty to hunting out of season. In submissions from his council, it was stated that Terry, 56, had been hunting for 40 years without incident. The two were on their way to a zone where the season for white tail deer had been extended, but had been lost and ended up in land where the season had closed.
    He received a $1,000 fine and a one-year hunting licence suspension.
    Kerry Loeppky did not admit to shooting from the truck, but pleaded guilty being a party to a person who discharged a firearm from a vehicle. He received a $600 fine.