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Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives l BC Office

Commentary l March 31, 2005



Taking What is Rightfully Theirs – BC Sheep Goes LEH!
By JEN BARFITT

High, wild, and free, the Stone’s sheep of British Columbia is one of the most coveted trophies of sportsman world wide. Sheep hunters from all over the globe have dreams of harvesting this magnificent animal to become one step further in their quest for the “Grand Slamâ€.

The Grand Slam club originated in the US, and to be eligible hunters must take each of North America’s four most recognized sheep species (Rocky Mountain Bighorn, Desert Bighorn, Stone’s Sheep, Dall Sheep). A small number of Stones sheep inhabit the southern mountains of Yukon and NWT, but the vast majority of the world’s Stone’s sheep are found in Northern British Columbia.

Guiding territories are allocated by geographic areas in British Columbia, with one guide operating in each area. Guides operate under quotas, with the sheep quota being heavily monitored. As a result, with a limited supply of tags and an ever increasing demand for Stone’s sheep hunts, the prices have sky rocketed in recent years, commanding as much as $25,000 US for a single 14 day trip. Furthermore, Stone’s sheep are one of the few species in BC where outfitters are limited to a quota, but resident hunters are not (although resident harvest accounts for less than ½ of the annual provincial sheep harvest).

To add fuel to the fire, last year, with the dwindling numbers of sheep being reported and the increasing demand for them (particularly in the eastern slopes of the Rockies) Guide Outfitters in Region 7 experienced a 20% cutback on their sheep quota for 2004, which was certainly not met with much enthusiasm by the Guide Outfitters Association of British Columbia (GOABC).

The GOABC is an organization with seemingly more political power than the average BC hunter and voter, and meetings in Victoria March 29,30, and 31 with government officials, were spent lobbying to protect the interests of BC’s sheep guides, an industry putting millions of dollars into the hands of few stakeholders, predominately foreign investment with BC residents as front men.

The result…. BC’s sheep hunters, the silent minority, suffer once again at the hands of the wealthy and politically strong GOABC, and in a bold political move before election time, the BC Government has passed Bill 67, and has given BC sheep hunting a major facelift.

Effective March 31, 2005 all sheep hunting in British Columbia will be under Limited Entry Hunting (LEH), a type of “quasi†lottery system criticized as not overly equitable or efficient by BC hunters. Furthermore, in its attempt to further “streamlineâ€, the BC Government has offloaded the duty of allocating tags, and has given this right to the ones that “know bestâ€; the GOABC.

For 2005, each individual Guide Outfitter will not only determine how many tags are to be given out to BC residents for their area, but will also be given the duty of collecting the LEH lottery Cards by mail, compiling them, and then sending them off to the GOABC for the draw to be held June 30, 2005.

Once again, the BC government has left the fox guiding the proverbial henhouse, in a move that could potentially spell disaster for BC sheep hunters, in an industry driven by greed and cash, with sheep management possibly being put on the backburner to line the pockets of the GOABC and adorn the walls of rich “Grand Slam Club†members.

I am personally not a hunter, but as a resident of BC am tired of sitting back and watching the BC government abuse our wildlife, first by cutting countless Conservation Officer positions and threatening to disarm the remaining ones, as well as cutting funding to study game populations and provide scientific information to be used for game management purposes. This decision is just one more example of putting economic benefit to the politically strong before the rights of British Columbians and sound management of precious wildlife!

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it's well done.

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Originally posted by Canuck:

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it's well done.

Going by the date I'd say it was a thoughtfully devised April Fools joke that I didn't see until almost a week late!

Cheers,
Canuck