A video posted on YouTube shows men firing a rifle at ducks swimming in a pond. Some of the shooting took place from a car window.A video posted on YouTube shows men firing a rifle at ducks swimming in a pond. Some of the shooting took place from a car window. (YouTube)

Three Saskatchewan men have been arrested over a video recently posted on YouTube that shows men using rifles to shoot ducks on a pond illegally, sometimes from a car window.

Saskatchewan's Environment Ministry said the three will appear in court in Saskatoon on Monday on charges laid under federal and provincial wildlife protection laws. The men, who were released until their court appearance, are from a community in the Saskatoon area.

The ministry said the video was shot in rural Saskatchewan. The internet posting led to widespread public outrage over the shootings, which the ministry said resulted in a significant number of calls to the Turn in Poachers hotline.

The ministry said it was information from those calls that led to the arrests, which were carried out by provincial conservation officers, federal wildlife enforcement officers and RCMP.

According to Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, the video indicates the men on it broke several hunting and firearms laws, including a prohibition on shooting out of a vehicle.

Gary Harrison, manager of the ministry's special investigations unit, said officers were able to pin down the location where the video was shot.

"It's close to the community that the arrests were made in," he said.

Harrison said more investigation is needed of the area where the video was shot.

Number not known

"Anybody who has watched the video knows that some birds have been killed and we really don't know how many that was," he said.

The video prompted the Toronto-based Humane Society of Canada to post a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those shown in the internet posting.

Society executive director Michael O'Sullivan said the organization also got calls from people who wanted to help and they were directed to tip lines in both western provinces. O'Sullivan said he is pleased to hear of the arrests.

"I would like to commend all the members of the public who provided information. Canadians take cruelty to animals very seriously and they want to help out as best as they can," he said.

With files from The Canadian Press