Wildlife officials urge jail time for Yukon poacher

Yukon conservation officers say they'd never seen anything like the collection of illegally-harvested animals they found at Jonathan Ensor's home near Whitehorse.

Officers raided Ensor's home near the Carcross cut off in October 2015 and seized a bison, an elk, a mule deer, a Dall sheep, a caribou, an eagle and other game birds. The animals had been hunted in Yukon and Northern B.C. over the past couple of years, without proper permits. 

Ensor pleaded guilty this week to a string of charges under Yukon's Wildlife Act.

Prosecutors said in Yukon territorial court on Wednesday that Ensor had been poaching over a long period of time, and his hunts were routinely planned and organized to avoid detection.

They called it an unprecedented "abuse of Yukon wildlife," and asked the court for a sentence of six months jail, a $15,000 fine, and a 20-year ban on hunting in Yukon.

Ensor believes that sentence is too harsh.

The October 2015 raid also saw Ensor charged with possession of weapons and ammunition while prohibited. He was convicted in August 2016 and sentenced to 90 days jail, to be served in the community under house arrest.

The sentencing hearing for the poaching charges is scheduled to continue next week.