A two-year investigation into the B.C. hosts of a Kelowna-based hunting show, Alpine Carnivore, has led to multiple poaching charges and the seizure of animal parts illegally killed as far away as Alberta.
In a statement Thursday, the BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) said it spent two years working with officers from Alberta Fish and Wildlife to investigate the wildlife offences. The case involved executing three search warrants, including the home and business offices of the hosts of Alpine Carnivore.
DNA analysis of moose and sheep parts allowed the officers to match them with kill sites in Alberta. Shell casings also matched a rifle seized in one of the raids.
“These actions showed a blatant disregard for fish and wildlife laws in B.C. and beyond,” said BCCOS Insp. Kyle Ackles, who oversees the service’s general investigations section.
“Unfortunately, cross-border poaching is not an unusual occurrence.”
Billed as a “hunting and outdoors adventure series”, videos produced by the Alpine Carnivore show have racked up tens of thousands of views across YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Most feature hunting game like bear, deer and elk across B.C. and Alberta. Others show pursuit for wild sheep in Mexico’s Sonora desert.
It’s not clear if any of the events in the videos are connected to cross-border investigation.
Court documents show Michel Beaulieu and Lynn Beaulieu faced multiple charges between 2022 and 2024, including carrying a firearm without a licence, using another person’s hunting licence and unlawful possession of dead wildlife. At least one of the infractions took place near Beaverdell, an unincorporated settlement about 30 kilometres east of Penticton.
The BCCOS says Michel Beaulieu pleaded guilty to allowing his hunting licence to be used by another person, while Lynn Beaulieu pleaded guilty to hunting without a licence. They received a combined $6,500 in penalties, the service said. Both were banned from hunting for a year.
In a video posted to social media Friday, Michel Beaulieu said the convictions stemmed from a sheep and a moose hunt in Alberta, and a bear hunt in B.C. He said he was guilty of the offences, but that “none of this was done with malicious intent.”
He said some of the offences came about due to a lack of signage in an area where hunting was prohibited. Others came about through ignorance of the differences between hunting regulations in B.C. and Alberta, and Ontario, where he's originally from.
“Not one time did I go in there like, 'Oh, we're going to go and poach this animal illegally.' That never even crossed my mind.”