Two Fort St. John men have been charged in the so-called Moose Rider incident, B.C. Conservation Officer Service deputy chief Chris Doyle said Thursday.
They both face one count each of harassing wildlife with the use of a boat, attempting to capture wildlife and hunting big game that is swimming under the Wildlife Act.
The charges stem from a video of a group of men on a motorboat trailing a swimming moose and then one of them diving onto the swimming animal and riding it for several seconds before being bucked off.
A conservation group, Wolftracker TV, posted the video on YouTube last year, generating a flurry of media attention.
Doyle said investigators identified the lake as Tuchodi Lake near Fort Nelson. Investigators believed the video had been taken the previous summer, based on snowpack on the mountains surrounding the lake.
Crown counsel approved the charges on June 24 and they're scheduled to make a first appearance in Fort Nelson provincial court on Aug. 8. According to court records, they are Bradley Dale Crook, born 1985, and Jaysun Allan Pinkerton, born 1983.
- with files from Alaska Highway News
