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Judge upholds suspension for hunter who lied about record-setting sheep

Poacher can't hunt: judge
Tim Petruk - Dec 2, 2021 / 4:00 am | Story: 353381


Environment Yukon investigators used this record-book photo of Abe Dougan posing with a Dall sheep in 1999 to determine the animal had not been harvested in B.C., like he claimed.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld a suspension preventing a Kamloops man from hunting, a penalty stemming from a record-setting Dall sheep he illegally harvested in the Yukon more than 20 years ago.

Abe Dougan killed the trophy sheep on Aug. 18, 1999. He said he took the animal in northwest B.C., but investigators from Environment Yukon determined the animal was harvested 18 kilometres north of the B.C.-Yukon border.

Investigators used a photo Dougan supplied a big game hunting record book, showing him and the sheep with a distinct mountain in the background. At the time, it was reported to be the second-largest Dall ever killed in B.C.

Using three-dimensional mapping software, investigators were able to determine Dougan’s exact location in the Yukon based on the mountain behind him in the photo, and investigators visited the area to recreate the record book photo.

Dougan was charged with a dozen wildlife offences in 2012 and stood trial in Kamloops two years later. Court heard Dougan was a successful guide who earned a good living leading wealthy hunters into B.C.’s backcountry.

Dougan was found guilty in 2015. Kamloops provincial court Judge Stella Frame ruled Dougan killed the sheep in the Yukon and then transported it back to B.C.

On the day Dougan was found guilty, Frame stayed the charges against him before entering convictions. She said it was due to delays in prosecution.

B.C.’s wildlife branch nevertheless suspended Dougan’s hunting license privileges due to the infractions, despite the convictions not being entered. Dougan appealed the suspension, but it was later upheld by B.C.’s Environmental Review Board.

Dougan challenged the board’s decision in court, arguing it had erred no fewer than 18 ways. Defence lawyer Kevin Church called Dougan’s ordeal “a persecution.”

Church called Dougan’s prosecution “prolonged and unrelenting” despite the fact he was not actually convicted. He also alleged “prejudicial and discriminatory” actions on the part of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service against his client.

In a decision dated Nov. 25, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Punnett upheld the suspension. The judge also declined a request by Church that the suspension term be reduced to one year.

“The board reviewed a number of authorities when considering the prohibition and explained why the two-year suspension was at the lowest end of the scale,” Punnett said.

“They confirmed the two-year penalty. I see no reason to interfere with the board’s review of the appropriate terms.”

Dougan’s suspension is slated to end on Jan. 31, 2022.