BC Taxpayers Just Don’t Count When It Comes To Game
The spokesperson for the Guides and Outfitters in BC says resident hunters do not have to worry about the new Limited Entry draws in which the guides will now be able to take for example 40% of the grizzly bear draws for sale to their clients.
Scott Ellis says BC residents may not always have their 1st choice of the region in which they want to hunt.
In a recent interview he says “An increase from 21% to 25% of the moose tags in the Cariboo is about 45 more moose for us (guides).” The province goes further by suggesting the new allocations represent about 110 animals that will be made available to Guide-Outfitters..
Now let’s for a moment suggest that there are 10 Grizzly bear draws in a section of the province . The guides are about to be able to harvest 4, while the resident hunters of the province will need to draw for the remaining 6 . The guides are able to sell their allotment on a first come first serve basis. In other words, they can sell that same tag several times until it is filled by some lucky hunter from far away. The local BC hunter, well if they don’t bag a grizzly, too bad so sad , that tag is used up and the hunter will find he will be waiting for awhile to get a new draw.
The 110 number is so misleading as to be funny. 40% of the Grizzly, 25% of the Moose, 20% of the Elk, 35% of the goats, and 30% of the Big Horn Sheep. These are the prized hunts, hence the reason why we have a draw in the first place, 110 less is hell of a steep decline. Add to that the hunter population has increased from around 84,000 to 102,000 over the past ten years and you have more hunters trying to get fewer coveted hunts. But wait, according to Scott Ellis , you may not be able to pick the region that you would like to hunt in, just plan to go elsewhere if you can afford it even if it is a secondary area.
Do the guides need to go elsewhere as is suggested? Well no, they have an allotment for their region, the territory that they own. Who has the advantage here?.
To toss us a bone the province says, don’t worry, there is no change in the cow Elk season or for that matter deer, is that because they are a poor sale for the guides? Does that suggest that well you can have a cow elk, skip the bull , 20% of that allotment goes to the guides.
Speaking of the deer hunts, Alberta (10%) , Saskatchewan (5%) and Washington state (5%) have trophy deer, much more than BC, but these jurisdictions choose to serve their resident hunters first.
Tossing out double speak that suggest that we the resident hunters are only being cut back by about 110 animals is pure nonsense. If for example you only have 10 tags in an area, the guides get 4 and you get to toss your name in the hat for the remaining 6, somehow doesn’t add up to what we are are told that the residents of the province come first.
We after all , are the people who government call upon every year to fill the tax coffers, we just don’t count when it comes to game.
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.
Comments
If the idiots let it go through, I’ll be voting for someone else next time
The guide/outfitter group lobbied the government and got their request. The government has underestimated the response from resident hunters. Now they, the government, just want this whole issue to go away. To save face, they can’t simply dial everything back to where it was so will look for some kind of middle ground and then hope residents are getting tired of the argument.
Resident hunters did nothing here to warrant a compromise. The deal that was struck between guides and Victoria did not include us. Perhaps our position in this “negotiation” should be, due to reduced animal counts, a reduction in guide allotment BELOW what it has been in the past. There.
Seems the table is slightly tilted to the guides. I think the resident hunters contribute a heck of a lot more to the provincial coffers than the guides will.
Seems like any tag given to the guides will likely be filled as they sell their tags until it is filled. While the resident hunters does not necessarily fill their tags, which the government counts on.
In a few years, the government will wonder why poaching is on the increase.
Seems to me that while we’re arguing over a relatively small number of animals, we should be looking at other issues, like FN hunting rights and how much that affects animal populations.
Lots of back stabbing going on behind closed doors, seems these days bite the hand that feeds you is the way to go.
JOHNNY BELT SO YOU ARESAYING FIRST NATION ARE TO BLAME FOR THE DOWNTREND OF WILDLIFE. HAVE you ever considered rail line/animal collisions, a proper predator control on wolves,bears.PROBABLY NOT. THIS GOVT. DOESNT THINK BEFORE IT ACTS. EVERY other jurisdictions appease the tax paying citizens first; IE: THE GUY WHO PUTS OUT THE MONEY FOR THEIR PAY CHEQUE. A LIMITED ENTRY SYSTEM that is fair; check how ALBERTA allocates their draws. CERTAIN areas/seasons just for b.c. residents only like SASKATCHEWAN has. BUT what really pisses me off is any unused tags these guides have leftover they sell to their buddies for the cost of the royalty fee so that they don’t get their quota reduced the following year. POINT is they had too many tags issued in the first place.
Well let’s see. Hunting 7-12, 7-13, 7-15 last fall yielded very few moose tracks, saw the odd fresh one but very few. And nope didn’t see any moose whatsoever. I’ve watched it decline in the past three years, but I’ve also watched the wolves increase in 7-15, 13.
How bout a conversation about conservation. Shut down the moose hunt totally for these areas for 5 years, see if we can’t get them back.
I agree with G2. I’ve hunted 7.23 and 7.24 for years; during the last two seasons (admittedly only 4 days each season) I didn’t even SEE a moose in those areas, and previously I could just about guarantee an animal. 102,000 resident hunters are a lot of votes – CC should think on that; and we resident hunters should not forget this issue. Good article, Ben.
I agree with the two posters above.
The natives get the rights they do to hunt because it is a sustenance hunt system for them, fair enough, BUT, if I choose to live where I don’t have ready access to a grocery store, meat store or live remote, WHY can I not apply to sustenance hunt as a white man? That is the inequality that has to change. Those FN who are living, working in or around ready access to grocery stores should have to give up their right to hunt for sustenance, period. We should be more like Alaska, which gives the right to sustenance hunt to any citizen of that state who needs that option.
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