MEDICINE HAT, Alberta (AP) — Former UFC heavyweight champion and professional wrestler Brock Lesnar paid a fine Tuesday to resolve hunting charges against him in Canada.
Through a defense attorney, Lesnar pleaded guilty to failing to affix a tag to a mule deer he had shot on a filmed hunt in Alberta in November 2010.
Ramona Robins, the chief crown prosecutor for Medicine Hat, Alberta, said she withdrew charges of spoilage and illegal possession of wildlife. Lesnar’s guide still faces charges.
Lesnar paid a fine of $1,500 Canadian (about $1,450 US), Robins said. Lesnar, who lives in Alexandria, Minn., also is suspended from hunting in Alberta for six months.
In a statement, Lesnar said he was glad to put the matter behind him.
“It’s the kind of thing that happens to hunters all the time. I want to thank the Canadian authorities for their cooperation in resolving this misunderstanding. I love Canada and I can’t wait to go back to Alberta for a hunt,” Lesnar said in the statement, which was released by his agent Brian C. Stegeman of Minneapolis.
Lesnar said he had two deer tags for the trip. On the first day of the trip, Lesnar shot a mule deer. On the second day, he shot a white-tail deer.
“After I shot the mule deer, I failed to immediately tag it. As far as I was involved, that’s all there is to it,” Lesnar said in his statement. He noted that video from the hunt has been on the Internet for over a year.
After 14 months away from mixed martial arts while he recovered from a lower intestinal ailment, Lesnar next fights Dec. 30 against Alistair Overeem at UFC141 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
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