Two social media influencers are among a quartet charged with illegally hunting and killing animals in B.C.’s backcountry.
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According to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, the four individuals face a total of 43 charges related to several incidents.
The investigation was launched in 2023 following the report of shots fired near a cabin in Sheridan Lake near 100 Mile House. Investigators later secured search warrants for two properties in the Lower Mainland.
The Service said of the four individuals identified and charged, two had been operating as social media influencers who ran a backcountry hunting site.
“This was a complex case that was investigated for more than a year,” said conservation officer Joel Kline.
The 43 charges are related to the killing of two stone sheep, two mountain goats, one elk and four mule deer.
Daniel Gazzola faces 26 charges under the Wildlife Act, including hunting out of season, unlawful possession of dead wildlife, discharging a firearm in a no-shooting area, hunting without consideration for the lives, safety and property of others, and making a false statement.
Gazzola also faces seven criminal charges related to firearms that were seized.
Emmanuel Porcellato faces eight charges, including hunting wildlife within six hours of being airborne, hunting wildlife out of season, and failing to comply with conditions of a species licence.
Cole Rogozinski faces five charges including unlawful possession of dead wildlife, exceeding the bag limit, and making a false statement. He also faces three additional criminal charges related to firearm seizures.
Nicole Elie Rogers faces four charges including unlawful possession of dead wildlife and using another person’s hunting licence.
According to posts on a local B.C.-based hunting Facebook group, the backcountry hunting website run by two of the charged was a YouTube channel called “Background Carnivore” that has since been deleted.