Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Hunting in BC Canada? Please consider not booking

Dear fellow hunters,

I am a B.C. resident hunter and have been let down by my government. The GOABC (guide outfitters of B.C.) have succesfully lobbied the government of B.C. to dramatically increase their quota on certain species (big dollar animals) at the expense of the resident hunter. 40 % of sheep/grizzly and goat in the north have been allocated to the outfitters of the GOABC and up to 25 % of some other species. Considering that the average allotment to non residents in the USA and Canada is between 5-10 % this hurts. We are concerned about the future of hunting for our children when commerical interest takes precedent over the citizens interest. We can't match the financial contributions to the government that the GOABC makes and we don't have the ability to sway government policy in the same organized manner of a consortium, such as the GOABC. What we do have is thousands of betrayed hunters with fire in our belly.

What I ask of you, my American brothers is to ask yourself how would you feel or react if a decision was made such as this in your state? Would you sit idly by or would you do something about it? PLEASE, we respectfully ask, that you do not book any hunts with members of the GOABC at the Reno convention next week or at any other time until this issue is resolved to the satisfaction of the B.C. residents. Remember the Yukon has stones sheep as well. For those interested in a bighorn hunt Alberta offers excellent guided opportunities.

Any individuals that is a member of a local fish and game club we encourage you to share this information with your fellow hunters. Anyone that is interested on more information on this travesty please contact me via pm.

If you do happen to find yourself on a guided hunt in B.C. this year, have no fear, you will be welcomed by the B.C. resident hunter as hunter and friend with common shared interests and values, however the man sitting beside you on the horse may have a very frosty welcome from this hunter. We do look forward to resolving this issue so that all of us can enjoy the amazing wildlife resource BC has to offer.

Please take some time to educate yourself on this issue by visiting the huntingbc.ca site and reading the various threads. Also petitions have started here.

http://www.bcwf.bc.ca/
Petition - Wildlife allocation BC


Finally, the lawyers are following our efforts and I'm afraid they may engage us residents with litigious law suits. So hear is my disclaimer. All comments are opinion only and I make no claim to the accuracy or completeness of any facts or figures I have provided. As I said please educate yourself.

GOABC did indeed have their lawyers draft a letter to the huntingbc.ca website demanding that some posts be deleted and demanding the names and addresses of the posters that were giving strong opinions against GOABC.

http://auction.goabc.org/auctionlist.aspx


Is this what they plan on doing with all the extra allocations they plan on getting?

Where do the funds from those auctions go ? Conservation? Or donations to government?

Judging by the responses from our MLAs the funds go directly into campaign funds.

kayjayess:

OK I'll refrain from booking a guided hunt in Canada. I can't afford to book a guided hunt anywhere, so it's easy for me to comply with your request.

KC

Yep they've gone out of their way to shaft us locals. Until this decision is reversed I'll be giving advice for good guides out this way but they'll be in Alaska, Alberta and the Yukon. I can't support anything to do with the GOABC right now that's for sure.

GOABC is going to your MLAs and trying to have your hunting opportunities cut. They don�t want to see you out hunting. Pick up a pen, a paper and write your MLA and the Minister on Environment. Tell them you want change and tell them you want to be treated like a resident in your own Province. Ask for a response.

Change is coming � it�s up to you to make sure it benefits people who live in BC first.

You probably could afford to if it wasn't for the guide outfitters stranglehold on non-resident hunts. At least for non-resident Canadians we are allowed to hunter host them to hunt at a fairly nominal cost. I like how it is handled in Montana as it was explained to us by a fellow that lives there...that is what we need.

Why would a potential client not book a hunt in BC?
To what benefit to the potential client would that be?
As far as a foreign hunter is concerned its the best thing that has happened to them for a long time, more hunting opportunities for them, they dont give a [bleep] about resident hunters.

My hunting opportunities were reduced dramaticaly when someone decided to promote 20,000 new hunters in BC, to an estimated 100,000 resident hunters, reducing any chance for a leh to almost nil, brilliant. I hope the BCWF and GOABC kill each other then maybe the resident hunters in BC wont be pawns in what seems like a game.
Then both organizations have the gall to bitch and complain about native hunting.

Don't follow you 673 resident hunter numbers are growing and that's a bad thing? Families do have children ya know, I think its a great thing, as long as they stay out of my honey hole!

What I don't think is a great thing is the recent back room deal that gives a mere 250 and some business' around twice the going rate percentage wise of wildlife allocation compared to anywhere else in north America other than the very sparsley populated far north. With one hand shake and excluding any input from the 100,000 resident hunters and our federation, the BCWF. Its old school political patronage the GOABC are long time political supporters. Its stinks.

But, I don't think its going to fly anger is growing and more and more people are finding out the truth. The GO business has been operating for decades fine and well in BC. They don't need to steal resident quota. Curiously they just talked the government in to allowing foreign ownership of these business'. Could they be fluffing them up for a big score?

I look forward to the day that this is behind us and I'll gladly go back to recommending and referring BC GOs with pride but now right now.

BCWF has started a petition to urge the Government of B.C. to rescind their recent decision on Wildlife Allocation, which will result in lost hunting opportunities for our province's resident hunters.

The petition calls on the Government of B.C. to overturn the decision to change the Wildlife Harvest Allocation Policy which gives a larger share of hunting permits to BC guide outfitters and a smaller share of hunting permits to BC resident hunters.

The petition is available at the following link: Wildlife Harvest Allocation Policy Petition, and will be submitted to the B.C. Legislature.

Just signed the petition. I urge all BC hunters to do the same, as well as personally contacting their MLA. This is a classic sellout. Hunters are a politically right-leaning lot, and we helped to vote the current government in power --- and now they crap all over us.

I hunted in BC a few years ago. I found out later that the money the outfitter collected from us for our tags was NEVER used to buy tags. They only would have issued them to us had we KILLED something. Since we didn't they kept our money and never issued a license or tag. Left a bad taste in my mouth when I realized what had happened. Probably won't ever go back. Too bad they require a non-resident to be guided for everything.

That's unbelievable, glad you at least didn't get into trouble could have been bad for you. It isn't hard to do a google search and come up with a list of infractions by various outfitters.

Salty303
If hunter numbers grow in BC, how will that benefit me?

The BCWF must of known about the increase in the AAH for the GOABC, I knew what they were after 10 years ago, you guys should of put your ducks in a row along time ago.
I sympathize with the resident hunters, the individual hunters anyways, the government in BC is going to be hard to persuade now.

Well our work has paid off some the government is pulling its horns back and sending the deal back to the negotiating table as of a few hours ago.

http://www.theprovince.com/technolo...will+revisit+changes/10709927/story.html

Its a beginning but no time to let up.

There is more than just you or Salty or me in all this, the younger generation need us to put and end to this now.

gerrygoat
Agreed, once the genie is out of the bottle it wont be put back easily if at all.
Introducing new hunters to hunting is the responsibility of parents, not the BCWF or government who have a financial interest.
I never thought more hunters was good foe anything/anyone other than for monetary gain, same as the GOABC, and thats where the problem lies in my view, I also see alot bigger problems than the GOABC for BC hunters. I hope the deal gets kicked to the curb too to start things out on the right foot.

Well with respect 673 you have a selfish attitude an I don't agree with it at all. School, hospital, library use and hunting numbers will go up as population increases just like he sun will rise in the east. It will happen. I think its wise for the BCWF and local clubs to promote our way of life have a place for the newbees to land and learn the ropes. More hunters = better conservation and management. And it makes it less likely that crap like this allocation policy is attempted in the future. Its a big place there will always be places with no hunters. Just get out of the truck and go for a walk.