A dead deer’s DNA helped tie two Richmond men to an out-of-season hunting expedition in Rose Prairie.

Late last month, Xiaojing Guo and Yong Li pleaded guilty to possession of dead wildlife and illegal hunting in a Richmond court.

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The two were charged after killing deer on a hunting expedition in Rose Prairie near Fort St. John in August 2013.

The BC Conservation Officer Service got a complaint about the hunting party from a resident, who said the men had killed a deer despite seasonal prohibitions on doing so. Seven men in the group were initially charged.

Conservation officers caught up with the men and found the bodies of two deer.

“We collected blood from the kill site, and then we had DNA from the deer that were seized,” Conservation Officer Blake Parker said. “We were able to link them that way.”

He said it’s not uncommon for COs to use DNA in illegal hunting cases.

“It depends on what evidence we have,” he said. “If we have (DNA), we do use it when we can. We save sending it out and getting it tested for the more serious offences. We don’t do it like 20 times a year.”

Guo was fined $3,500 and handed a three-year prohibition on hunting on March 31. Li was also given a three-year hunting prohibition, as well as $2,300 in fines

Their rifles, the deer carcasses and other hunting paraphernalia were confiscated.