Port Moody resident fined $7,000 for killing grizzly after claiming self-defence

This Aug. 12, 2009 photo shows a grizzly bear traveling across the Porcupine River Tundra in the Yukon Territories, Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Rick Bowmer

A Port Moody resident was handed a hefty fine, ordered to do community service and temporarily banned from hunting after investigators determined a grizzly bear killing wasn't actually in self-defence.

In a social media post Wednesday, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said Carmine Bruno was sentenced in provincial court last week in connection to a 2021 grizzly bear killing in Squamish.

BCCOS was first made aware about the bear's death through a tip to its Report All Poachers and Polluters, or RAPP, hotline.

"The accused first claimed self-defence, but the evidence found during the investigation determined that the killing was not justified, and contrary to the Wildlife Act," BCCOS said in its post.

Hunting grizzly bears is prohibited in B.C., except by Indigenous people for food, social or ceremonial purposes.

Bruno was sentenced to pay a $7,000 fine and complete 100 days of community service. They were also handed a five-year ban for hunting and possessing firearms.