One illegal out-of-season cougar kill in early 2024 has snowballed into a significant enforcement victory for Alberta Fish and Wildlife. Eight individuals, including the owner of a central Alberta outfitting operation and two American hunters, have pleaded guilty to a total of 13 offences, landing them hefty fines and license suspensions under the province’s Wildlife Act.
The investigation kicked off back in January 2024 when officers were tipped off about a suspected closed-season cougar hunt involving Byron Stewart, owner of Tracks N Trails Outfitting in Alberta’s Drayton Valley. According to the tip, a guided resident hunter had taken a male cougar after the legal season had closed — a handy piece of information that soon metastasized into something much bigger.
Further probing uncovered evidence of upwards of 11 illegal guided hunts across Alberta that included eight non-resident hunters and three Alberta resident hunters. Search warrants executed in Alberta and British Columbia eventually turned up 11 cougar skins and skulls, along with five Canada lynx skins that were all booked as evidence in the growing case.
Tracks N Trails Outfitting
On Tuesday, the following individuals pleaded guilty to a variety of Wildlife Act offences, including hunting out of season, unlawful possession of wildlife, use of prohibited electronic calling devices, and hunting without valid licences:
Byron Stewart, Cindy Stewart, and Devin Hyde of Drayton Valley, Alberta
Jody Janzer of Kitscoty, Alberta
Luke Viravec of DeBolt, Alberta
Garrett Patton of Worsley, Alberta
Joshua Owens of New Braunfels, Texas
Arnold Compton of Excello, Missouri
Most of the violations centered on cougars and Canada lynx — species managed with tight seasons and harvest limits for good reason.
The penalties added up to over $135,000 in fines and nearly two decades of lost hunting privileges across the group, although specifics for each individual were not available at press time.
“Illegal hunting undermines wildlife conservation and management efforts in Alberta. It can contribute to overharvesting, negatively affect wildlife populations and reduce hunting opportunities for law-abiding hunters through quotas and shorter hunting seasons,” the Alberta government wrote in its news release.
