A Maple Ridge man who killed a mountain goat mother and kid was fined $50,000 and prohibited from hunting for 10 years.
Daniel Gazzola unlawfully hunted and killed wildlife in multiple incidents throughout B.C.
He pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court to five counts under the Wildlife Act (WLA), including:
• Hunting and killing wildlife not within an open season – a female mountain goat and kid.
• Hunting and killing wildlife not within an open season – a thinhorn mountain stone sheep that did not meet horn curl or horn annuli age requirements.
• Knowingly making a false statement in a record furnished under the Wildlife Act at a butcher shop.
• Hunting without consideration for the lives, safety or property of other persons, in discharging a firearm within 100 meters of multiple residences.
• Exceeding the legal limit for mule deer hunting.
A $10,000 fine was imposed for each count, with the majority of the penalty going to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.
Gazzola is also prohibited from hunting, buying a hunting licence, or accompanying other hunters in B.C. for 10 years. He was also ordered to submit an apology letter to the Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS).
Gazzola was involved in a social media enterprise about hunting, and Conservation Officers investigated his online posts. Four people were involved – two others have been sentenced, and another is awaiting trial, as part of the same BCCOS investigation.
The investigation began in the fall of 2023 when Conservation Officers responded to a report of shots fired near a cabin in Sheridan Lake, in the vicinity of 100 Mile House. The investigation led to the execution of two search warrants in the Lower Mainland.
Earlier this month, Nicole Elie Rogers pleaded guilty to one count under the WLA for allowing her hunting species licence to be used by another person. She was fined $7,000, and is prohibited from hunting, buying a hunting licence, or accompanying other hunters in B.C. for three years. She was also ordered to submit an apology letter to the BCCOS.
A third individual, Cole Rogozinski was sentenced in August. He received a $7,000 penalty for knowingly making a false statement in a record furnished under the Wildlife Act.
A fourth individual, Emmanuel Porcellato, is slated to go to trial in June 2026.