Hunting siblings fined, have licences suspended
An on-line video has led to two brothers being charged with hunting a Dall sheep where they weren’t supposed to.
An on-line video has led to two brothers being charged with hunting a Dall sheep where they weren’t supposed to.
Luke MacDonald, 23, and Daniel, 28, pleaded guilty earlier this week.
They were fined $2,000 each and had their hunting licences suspended for a year.
The brothers were also ordered to take a sheep hunting workshop before they can obtain another sheep tag.
In addition to the fine, they’ve been ordered to surrender their sheep mount.
Ryan Hennings of Environment Yukon said Thursday the brothers were residents of Whitehorse when they went hunting back in August 2012 in sub-zone 7-24, a sub-zone which is open to all sheep hunters.
The sheep, however, was shot in sub-zone 7-25, a permit zone, and the MacDonalds did not have a permit.
Hennings said the infraction only came to light a couple of months ago when somebody familiar with the area saw the on-line video of the hunt.
From what was said on the video, the person understood the MacDonalds were to be hunting in the open sub-zone.
But from the footage, he believed the sheep was shot in the permit zone, and he contacted Environment Yukon.
The charges were laid late last month, and the MacDonalds pleaded guilty Tuesday at their first appearance in court.
Hennings said the hunting party in 2012 included the MacDonalds and two others, one of whom was along specifically to record the hunt on video.
Hennings said he understands it aired recently on an on-line hunting site, and may have also even been on television.
The court ordered the $4,000 in fines to be paid to the Yukon Fish and Game Association to support its TIPP program – Turn in Poachers and Polluters.
Sub-zones 7-24 and 7-25 encompass Alligator Lake, located approximately 45 kilometres southwest of Whitehorse.
The dividing line for the sub-zones runs through the middle of the lake.
Hennings said the MacDonalds had used an Environment Yukon map to transcribe the boundaries of the sub-zones onto their own map, though the transcription was not entirely accurate.
It appears they also made a mistake reading the map, because they weren’t where they thought they were, he said.
“They were surprised when we came to them,” Hennings said.
He said while it doesn’t appear the brothers intentionally hunted in the permit zone, that’s no excuse.
Hunters have a responsibility to know the rules and know where they are, he pointed out.
The TIPP line is a means for individuals to report concerns or infractions without using their names, though they can disclose their names.
In either case, the program is set up to provide cash rewards.
Comments (7)
Up 5 Down 2
Moose Dr. on Sep 2, 2015 at 6:58 pm
I feel for these hunters. It is incredibly hard to hunt "always legal". How can you be sure that there's no cabin within a kilometer of your hunt site? Do you know the rules of native land? 'Can't hunt on inhabited land, even if nobody is living there. The land's state is not clearly marked anywhere. Hunting, by the most careful of us, carries legal risks. These guys didn't think they were doing anything wrong. Their map reading skills were obviously deficient, but they didn't teach map reading in the HEED course.
Ban, "It is my sincere hope, that in my remaining lifetime, all forms of trophy hunting will be banned from gods green earth!!"
Why do you presume that these guys were "trophy hunting". They mounted the head? I bet they also enjoyed the meat. I have never eaten wild sheep, but I hear that it is excellent. These hunters were not charged with wasting meat. Is it better if a person eats the meat but doesn't mount the head?
Up 6 Down 7
Ban Trophy Hunting on Sep 2, 2015 at 12:29 pm
It is my sincere hope, that in my remaining lifetime, all forms of trophy hunting will be banned from gods green earth!!
Up 7 Down 5
sad to see on Sep 1, 2015 at 12:01 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn6ggxy7wyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLcD0ENGvcw
So sad to see. These two resident hunters were essentially guided along by two non resident guys to two illegal rams. What is with this sub zone and another slap on the wrist.(Mac Watson Full Curn incident) The videographer is obviously selling his footage to WIldTV. So dissapointing
Why are these guys allowed to keep their sheep as well?
Up 23 Down 6
Mark S on Aug 31, 2015 at 10:13 am
These hunters made a mistake and paid for it due to the tip line and relentless enforcement. The system worked., end of story.
The old guard have made many mistakes as younger hunters thus I see no reason to vilify these two for a mistake.
Up 21 Down 7
Random on Aug 30, 2015 at 9:52 pm
This was a memory that those two brothers will have forever and one of the last memories that they have with a really good friend, so yes maybe it was on video and they were in the wrong district but that certainly doesn't mean that they were hunting for all the wrong reasons, get your facts straight
Up 18 Down 1
BnR on Aug 29, 2015 at 7:59 am
Seems like lots of younger guys don't know how to read a map. It was the same situation when North Kurl got busted last year for taking 2 rams illegally over by High Rose. Didn't know where they were. Oh well, just git er dun.
Up 13 Down 9
Sheep Hunter on Aug 28, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Buy some camo, bring along a GoPro, put it on YouTube, bingo, you're a Sheep hunter. It seems in this day and age of the net and online hunt forums, many people are getting into hunting for an entirely different reason than many of us who have been at it since the days before the net. I see in the video the wee buddies of Tanner Sinclair. Were these guys relative new comers to our territory?