An NWT Territorial Court judge is to deliver her verdict on August 26 after a trial last week in Inuvik for a man charged with killing a polar bear out of season.
31-year-old Justin Elias of Inuvik says he shot and killed the bear last summer in self-defence.
Elias has pleaded not guilty to NWT Wildlife Act charges.
He reportedly testified felt that it was a situation where he could’ve been killed had he not taken action first.
Defence lawyer Kate Oja said her client was simply defending himself and his property.
Regulations stipulate that you can only hunt polar bears between December and May in the hunting zone north of Inuvik where the bear was shot last August and then only with a required hunting tag.
Elias wasn’t charged with the offence until January of this year.
Judge Christine Gagnon, the chief territorial court justice in the NWT, is to announce her decision in court in Inuvik on August. 26th.
