An Instagram influencer known for producing outdoor-related content was sentenced on May 1 at the Yukon Territorial Court for illegally hunting three bears and obtaining Yukon hunting licences using misleading information between October 2022 and May 2023.
Tristan James Hamm, 29, pleaded guilty to counts one, three and four on the indictment. These charges, brought forward by the Crown, relate to offences committed under the Yukon Wildlife Act.
Justice Katherine McLeod ordered Hamm to pay a $10,500 fine and an equal amount in contributions to the Yukon conservation fund for illegally hunting three bears within a five-day period in May 2023.
McLeod fined Hamm $2,750 and $1,750 for obtaining hunting licences using misleading information on two separate occasions between 2022 and 2023. She also ordered him to contribute a total of $3,500 to the conservation fund for both counts of obtaining Yukon hunting licenses as a non-resident. Additionally, McLeod prohibited Hamm from hunting in Yukon for two years.
McLeod ruled that Hamm must complete an online hunter education and ethics development course before he can obtain a Yukon hunting licence again. She also ordered him to forfeit pelts from the bears he hunted.
McLeod further prohibited Hamm from joining groups out on hunts for three years unless he becomes a Yukon resident. She added in sentencing that if Hamm did become a Yukon resident that the hunter education and ethics development training would need to be completed first.
Hamm鈥檚 Instagram account currently has two million followers, while his TikTok account has 97,000 followers. On TikTok, Hamm posts content about his various outdoor activities, ranging from trail running, to jumping from helicopters and exploring abandoned mines.
Defence lawyer Kevin Drolet told the court that Hamm could make the payment immediately and that the necessary funds were held in a trust account. Hamm attended the proceedings virtually from outside the territory.
Crown prosecutor Kelly McGill presented submissions on sentencing, noting that the Yukon Wildlife Act authorizes the courts to impose a fine of up to $50,000 or up to one year in custody for the offences on the indictment.
McGill and Drolet agreed upon sentencing recommendations for the offences on the indictment that Hamm pleaded guilty to, proposing a global fine of $15,000, including an equal amount in contributions to the conservation fund, as well as a two-year hunting ban and a three-year prohibition on joining groups out on hunts.
McGill and Drolet noted in their submissions that Yukon hunting licenses are reserved for Yukon residents and that Hamm had obtained one despite being a non-resident. McGill argued that Yukon wildlife is a public resource and that non-residents can only hunt through a third party, adding that Hamm鈥檚 non-compliance with Yukon鈥檚 licensing laws was an aggravating factor in sentencing.
McGill said Hamm hunted a grizzly bear near Kluane Lake in May 2023 and that he also hunted two black bears, one at Dry Creek, approximately a three-hour drive north of Haines Junction, and another at Bove Island on Tagish Lake鈥檚 Windy Arm.
McGill also noted that conservation officers recovered two black bear hides, a grizzly bear hide and a bear skull from a taxidermist in the Yukon
Drolet argued in mitigation that sustainable harvest numbers for grizzly bears in 2022 were less than one-quarter of the annual sustainable harvest. He also argued that Hamm submitted all the required harvest and biological reports to Yukon Conservation Officer Services after hunting the bears.
Drolet added that Hamm has family connections to Yukon, despite the defence鈥檚 characterization of his residence as unusual due to the nature of his employment. McLeod, in turn, said in sentencing that the nature of Hamm鈥檚 employment should help serve as a deterrent against future offences.
During sentencing, McLeod said Yukon鈥檚 vast, untamed landscapes make enforcing wildlife and conservation laws difficult, leaving the territory vulnerable to violations. She emphasized that denunciation and deterrence should play a role in sentencing for the offences to which Hamm pleaded guilty.
-With files from Matthew Bossons
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
