Three young men who gained worldwide notoriety for posting a YouTube video showing them hunting illegally on a prairie pond all pleaded guilty on Monday, and were handed hefty fines.

23-year-old James Fraser and his brother, 30-year-old David Fraser must each pay $5,000 for their actions, and their brother-in-law Jeremy Rowlands must pay $6,000.

All three men, from Cudworth Saskatchewan, were facing the following charges under provincial and federal wildlife laws: unlawful hunting, hunting out of season, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and leaving edible game to be wasted.

It's believed none of the men had hunting licences, and on Monday they were forced to turn in their rifles.

"It was a stupid thing to do," said James Fraser, outside a Saskatoon courtroom Monday morning, about the hunting spree that is believed to have taken place between the 20th and 30th of July, near his hometown.

Originally, conservation officials and law enforcement officers thought the men were poaching in either Western Saskatchewan of Eastern Alberta, but thanks to countless tips from the public, the men were arrested near Cudworth on Saturday.

"The response from our standpoint was fantastic in that the public were obviously outraged by what they saw and the number of calls that they made from tip lines both in Alberta and Saskatchewan was a direct result of why we were able to arrest these individuals on Saturday," said Brian Petrar with Environment Canada.

Meanwhile, the YouTube video has drawn attention to the issue of poaching in the prairies, prompting animal rights groups to push for harsh sentences.

"I think it's important that the courts do send a message that these type of offences won't be tolerated and aren't acceptable, said Brent Kennedy, who works for Ducks Unlimited.

His sentiments are echoed by a man who runs a business taking people hunting across Alberta.

"It's really appalling to see something like this its really got nothing to do with hunting," said Dan Frederick with Ameri-Cana Expeditions.

"There are people definitely out there that are breaking the law and hopefully we can get them."

The maximum penalties the accused could have faced include a $300,000 fine and six-month jail term.

-With Files from CTV's Scott Roberts and CTV.ca