A Canmore man has been fined $2,500 for trying to remove elk antlers from Banff National Park earlier this summer.
Petyr Zidek pleaded guilty to one count of contravening the regulations of the National Parks Act in front of Judge Les Grieve in Canmore Provincial Court at the end of July.
Federal Crown prosecutor R. Jeremy Newton said the charge stemmed from an incident on April 10 at Carrot Creek.
“Mr. Zidek is known to the wardens in Banff as a person who picks antlers and he has been warned before,” Newton said.
He said Zidek’s vehicle was seen at the Carrot Creek turnout along the Trans-Canada Highway by a warden on duty around 4 p.m. The warden returned at 6 p.m. and the vehicle was gone.
Newton said the warden then investigated the area with a K9 unit and found two sets of elk antlers “stashed” in trees nearby.
“A few hours later, after dusk, the officer parked and waited for Mr. Zidek to return and sure enough he did and picked up the antlers,” he said.
Newton said the issue is that wardens believe Mr. Zidek takes the antlers outside the national park and uses them for carvings and then sells them. He said it is perfectly legal to collect antlers outside the park – and the eastern boundary of Banff is just 10 kilometres from where he was caught, “but instead he goes into a national park and picks up the antlers.”
Newton said officials have known about his activities for some time, however, this is the first time he has been caught. He added Zidek has lived in the Bow Valley since the early ‘80s and knows the rules about removing flora and fauna from the park – which goes against the National Parks Act.
Duty counsel Lynda Levesque told the judge that Zidek had no intention of removing the antlers from the national park and came across the shed antlers while in the Carrot Creek area.
“He moved them to study them at a later time … he understand he ought not to have,” she said, adding he has an interest in studying ungulate antlers shed in the wild. “He is well aware of environmental issues and how to relate to wildlife.”
Judge Grieve noted that the $2,500 fine is much lower than the $4,500 he imposed on a man who pleaded guilty to going into the Banff hot springs, home to an endangered snail species.
Grieve said he hopes this one mistake is not what Zidek is known for in the community.
Zidek moved to Canmore with his wife and two children from Czechoslovakia in 1982 and has worked various jobs in the valley, including guiding work. He is known locally as a coach for the national biathlon team as well.
