EDMONTON -- Two men were fined and had their hunting licences suspended after 20 Franklin's Gulls were found dead in a Spruce Grove property last summer.
Fish and Wildlife began to investigate after a video was posted to Facebook "showing the mistreatment" of a Franklin's Gull.
Two men in the property admitted to shooting the seagulls with shotguns, and 20 were found dead in a sewage lagoon in the property, Fish and Wildlife said.
On Sept. 18, Seth Wideman and Robert Plourde were found guilty under the Wildlife Act for hunting during closed season. They received a $3,000 fine and had their hunting licence suspended for one year.
These seagulls are a non-game animal and there are no open hunting seasons for them, Fish and Wildlife said.
