Yukon hunters seek eased restrictions for non-resident hunters

Last Updated: Thursday, November 20, 2008
CBC News

Hunters are asking the Yukon government to add sheep and bison to the list of big-game animals that non-Yukoners can hunt in the territory, arguing that they want more opportunities to share their wilderness experience with outsiders.

The Yukon Fish and Game Association is lobbying the government to lift some existing restrictions on what animals non-residents can take, with the help of individual Yukoners.

The territorial government offers about 100 special guiding licence each year for individual Yukon hunters to act as special hunting guides for non-residents, such as visiting friends or family members, to hunt an animal in the territory.

"There's a lot of Yukon hunters out there who would love an opportunity to be able to 'special guide' a close friend or family member to come up here," vice-president John Carney told CBC News.

Unlike licensed big-game outfitting firms, which sell hunting tourism packages, Yukon hunters acting as special hunting guides cannot accept payment for their services.

But the territory's hunting regulations state that non-residents hunting with a special guide can only hunt for moose, caribou, grizzly bear, black bear, wolf and coyote. They cannot hunt for sheep or bison.

Carney said he believes that restriction is in place only to protect the Yukon's big-game outfitting industry.

"There's no reason based on the population of the animals or conservation reasons why we can't do this," Carney said.

"The only reason we're not doing this is [for] political reasons."

Other provinces like British Columbia and Alberta make it easy for Yukoners to hunt in those provinces, and the Yukon should give back, he added.

"Eighty-one per cent of our money that the Yukon government spends comes from Canada. We think that it's a small step for the Yukon government to be able to allow more opportunities, at least, for hunting up there, when the same provinces that we rely on are offering us opportunities," Carney said.

The government is currently considering 14 new hunting regulations, including the one being proposed by the Yukon Fish and Game Association.

All the proposed regulations will be up for discussion at a public meeting in Whitehorse next month.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2008/11/20/yukon-hunt.html