Hunter angry, says resource officers impeded caribou harvest

[Thomas D'Arcy McGee]

Tom Unka, of Fort Resolution, said a helicopter landed beside him while he was hunting for caribou recently, and an officer got out to ask whether he had any meat. (Department of Environment and Natural Resources)

Hunter angry, says resource officers impeded caribou harvest

Department of Environment and Natural Resources says officers were enforcing caribou management zone

Kirsten Fenn · CBC News · Posted: Apr 03, 2018 12:17 PM CT | Last Updated: April 3

A hunter from Fort Resolution, N.W.T., is angered by what he claims is the harassment of caribou hunters by renewable resource officers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Tom Unka said he was hunting in late March near the MacKay Lake and Kennady Lake area — where Gahcho Kue diamond mine is located — when he saw officers trying to move caribou herds away from hunters with helicopters.

At one point, Unka said, a helicopter landed right beside him and an officer got out to ask whether Unka had any meat on him.

At another point, Unka said he was on his way back home from the trip with a group of other hunters when another officer stopped them and asked them to unload the caribou they'd caught.

Officers enforcing regulations, says department

Meagan Wohlberg, a department spokeswoman, said in an email that the officers were using helicopters around the mobile management zone for Bathurst caribou so they could conduct harvesting inspections.

The mobile no-hunting zone is an area that moves with the roaming Bathurst herd to keep them protected. No one is allowed to hunt within the zone, although Indigenous peoples may hunt outside the zone, Wohlberg said.

Wohlberg said the department's work with the helicopters was "strictly to ensure that hunters are complying with mobile zone regulations" and was "not intended to direct caribou into or outside of the zone."

She said officers from the department are acting under their authority in the territory's Wildlife Act when they inspect harvesters or harvested meat.

Hunters frustrated

Unka said he and other hunters are frustrated with the government's actions

"We are treaty people," he said. "We have a treaty right, and in that treaty it says we can hunt."

According to the territory's Wildlife Act, a person with an Aboriginal or treaty right to harvest wildlife in the territory isn't required to hold a license or permit to hunt, but is required to show identification that demonstrates those rights if an officer asks for proof.

Unka said he hasn't caught any caribou this year, and he says government officers are partly to blame.

"They're taking food away from my grandchildren," he said. "I've been out there three times and every time . . . there was a herd that was outside the [mobile zone] line, they were coming in with helicopters, moving [the caribou] away, away from the hunters, right in front of them."

Unka said Indigenous hunters should be allowed to hunt caribou freely.

"It's wrong what they're doing," he said.

 

[fraserdw]

There are 7 billion people on the planet, it is no longer possible to hunt freely. Like it or not, there will be no animals left for future generations if everything is free now.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

There are 7 billion people on the planet, it is no longer possible to hunt freely. Like it or not, there will be no animals left for future generations if everything is free now.

That is the bottom line, though some people are just too stupid to recognize it. Hunting in MARCH ?? Just about calving time for most species.

Grizz

 

[canadian hunter312]

No rules, no seasons, no license requirements, just buy a gun and go hunting. Despite this, he still has the gall to ##### and moan when after being checked out? On the flip side, I need to pass a hunting course, apply for and purchase licenses/tags, follow the rules and regulations, and only hunt during a specified season while still being "harassed" by conservation officers to ensure compliance.


Hey Tom, maybe it's time to think about how easy you have it and STFU?

 

[Papaclaude]

The thing is, in the vast majority of cases, quotas and seasons were implemented for sustainability of fish and game, so one would think that as "friends of Nature" and "Keepers of the Land", they would not only abide by them, but exceed them by voluntarily limiting harvests whenever there are drops in population.

Several friends tell me Lake Nipissing is becoming a desert due to netting by some groups.

 

[new210/22]

If we accept the story on face value then regardless our opinions on indigenous rights and treaty guarantees this was a lawful hunter interrupted and harassed by government officials. That would piss me right off. That said I do not feel anyone should be hunting during calving season and I dont like double standards.

 

[Diablo7101]

Why do they think it's ok to shoot them in March anyway. The cows are all carrying...brutal.
They do the same here with the elk....heard a guy talking last week about the rest of the herd ran off into the bush but one cow stayed in the open so he shot that one....it was dropping a calf at the time. Keepers of the land.

 

[heliace]

The stupidity, and or, the unwillingness to speak up, of the average Canadian, confounds me. When are people going to wake up and stand up against this crap?

 

[fingers284]

If we accept the story on face value then regardless our opinions on indigenous rights and treaty guarantees this was a lawful hunter interrupted and harassed by government officials. That would piss me right off. That said I do not feel anyone should be hunting during calving season and I dont like double standards.

Speaking directly to that very point, I had a buddy drive 300 KM. for a one day deer hunt with me on land I had acquired permission for us. I set him up on a field edge on a regularly used deer trail then myself and another buddy went around to the other side of the 150 acre bush to start a sort of mini-drive in the hopes of moving some animals in his direction. I had just put out 2 does and a very respectable 160 class buck and they were moving towards Mark...When along came a helicopter, landed beside Mark and checked him out for a licence...The man was 1/2 mile from any road, in the middle of private land and had the brightest orange coat on I had ever seen and they had to check him out in the middle of an organized hunt. Of course that buck high-tailed it the opposite direction of the chopper never to be seen again.

Road checks and field checks if there is an obvious animal already down (animal down hunt is over) but to interfere when it is obvious nobody is hiding something is just plain harassment.

 

[Calgarychef]

Speaking directly to that very point, I had a buddy drive 300 KM. for a one day deer hunt with me on land I had acquired permission for us. I set him up on a field edge on a regularly used deer trail then myself and another buddy went around to the other side of the 150 acre bush to start a sort of mini-drive in the hopes of moving some animals in his direction. I had just put out 2 does and a very respectable 160 class buck and they were moving towards Mark...When along came a helicopter, landed beside Mark and checked him out for a licence...The man was 1/2 mile from any road, in the middle of private land and had the brightest orange coat on I had ever seen and they had to check him out in the middle of an organized hunt. Of course that buck high-tailed it the opposite direction of the chopper never to be seen again.

Road checks and field checks if there is an obvious animal already down (animal down hunt is over) but to interfere when it is obvious nobody is hiding something is just plain harassment.

Agreed 100%.

 

[ceb]

There are 7 billion people on the planet, it is no longer possible to hunt freely.

The area of Texas is about 262,000 mi2. Dividing this figure by the current human population of 7 billion leaves each
person with about 1000 square feet, a small plot the size of a big room about 33 ft x 33 ft.

I'd say if earths population would fit inside Texas, then we don't really have much of a population problem.

 

[fraserdw]

The area of Texas is about 262,000 mi2. Dividing this figure by the current human population of 7 billion leaves each
person with about 1000 square feet, a small plot the size of a big room about 33 ft x 33 ft.

I'd say if earths population would fit inside Texas, then we don't really have much of a population problem.

Inaccurate comparison. The land a person can live in personally is insufficient to take into account the amount of land required to sustain the person or the land a person can live on indefinitely. Take the food growing land in Texas, add in sustainable farming and recyclable fresh water and what do you end up with?

 

[RRH.01]

The area of Texas is about 262,000 mi2. Dividing this figure by the current human population of 7 billion leaves each
person with about 1000 square feet, a small plot the size of a big room about 33 ft x 33 ft.

I'd sayf earths population would fit inside Texas, then we don't really have much of a population problem.

 

[Northshore]

I will bet that helicopter landed for the simple reason of screwing up a hunt so close to calving season.

 

[Papaclaude]

The area of Texas is about 262,000 mi2. Dividing this figure by the current human population of 7 billion leaves each
person with about 1000 square feet, a small plot the size of a big room about 33 ft x 33 ft.

I'd say if earths population would fit inside Texas, then we don't really have much of a population problem.

We have already seen what unregulated hunting has done to many herds: turkeys, bison, caribou, waterfowl. Long ago, we recognized the issue and started imposing limits on hunting and harvests. Now, given that we are Evil Incarnate and the Destroyers of Mother Earth, and that we did these things (late, but better late than never) you would think that our brethren who are the Protectors of the Beloved Mother would lead the way in protecting our heritages.

 

[hawk-i]

Does anybody really give a rats behind if this guy is angry or not?

 

[Brassman66]

If we accept the story on face value then regardless our opinions on indigenous rights and treaty guarantees this was a lawful hunter interrupted and harassed by government officials. That would piss me right off. That said I do not feel anyone should be hunting during calving season and I dont like double standards.

Ditto times 2.

Cheers

 

[hawk-i]

If I get pulled over in a stop check while driving, am I being harassed by the government?

 

[Scott_N]

Does anybody really give a rats behind if this guy is angry or not?

Count me in for one vote in the don't really care group. Everybody is angry, all the time it seems.

 

[trevj]

Does anybody really give a rats behind if this guy is angry or not?

Lesse now....

Ummmm....

Nope!

If I get pulled over in a stop check while driving, am I being harassed by the government?

Only if you have Indian blood in your Ancestry somewhere.

Sorta got mixed feelings. On one hand, I figure we should just walk away from worrying about the Caribou, take lots of pictures and keep good records, so that when the chorus of "It's all Whitey's fault" starts there is something to refer back to.

Because you know that if it isn't Whitey's fault, it remains just a mystery as to how it happened. Best to take some of that mystery out of the equation, at least, for those that will be willing to read and understand.