The Yukon government issued 30 more permits to hunt elk this week in its effort to reduce the overall population by 50 animals.

Hunters who applied for a permit in the original draw last year but were unsuccessful were given the first crack at additional permits based on a priority list taken from the order the 1,211 names were drawn in last summer.

To date, 24 elk have been taken, and those with bull tags are having more success.

Of the 24, for instance, 18 bulls and six cows have been harvested even though more than half of the original permits – 28 – were for cows.

Elk biologist Rick Ward of Environment Yukon said he suspects there are a couple of reasons the harvest to date is so far dominated by bulls.

A large number of bulls were taken during the September-October rutting season when they were relatively easy to call out into the open, he said.

"I also think people who get bull tags put more effort into it because they are keen to get out and get their trophy.”

Of the 30 new permits, 10 are for bulls and 20 for cows. The elk season closes March 31.

Elk were originally transplanted to the territory in the 1950s, and the program was revived briefly in the 1980s.

But the mounting population of the Takhini and Braeburn herds is of growing concern.

Farmers in the Takhini River Valley along the Alaska Highway and down the Mayo Road to as far as Deep Creek are having to contend with elk destroying crops or bothering their own animals, including pet dogs.

A couple of years ago, it was also discovered both herds were heavily infested with winter ticks, which are not normally fatal to elk but can devastate moose and other members of the deer family.

The Takhini herd is estimated at 175 animals and the Braeburn herd is estimated at 85 elk, according to government figures.

Information on the additional permits is available on the Environment Yukon website at http://www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/huntingtrapping/elkpermithunt.php