Senior city administrator fined for hunting offence

A senior administrator with the City of Whitehorse says he regrets shooting an undersized Dall sheep, but it happened and he's sorry.

By Chuck Tobin on February 2, 2012

A senior administrator with the City of Whitehorse says he regrets shooting an undersized Dall sheep, but it happened and he's sorry.

Rob Fendrick pleaded guilty this week to shooting the undersized sheep near Primrose Lake and delivering its skull for inspection without the full eye socket intact.

Fendrick was fined $1,500 for killing the sheep and $250 for turning in the skull without the full socket.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the horns, hide and meat.

Fendrick told the Star this morning that like any other hunter, he was out trying to get meat for his family.

Not wanting to go into a detailed, blow-by-blow account of the hunt, the city's director of administrative services said he made a mistake.

"I regret what happened and I am sorry about it,” he said.

"I was trying not to make a mistake and I accept responsibility for it. That's all I can say.”

Fendrick said when he turned in the skull, even the conservation officer thought the horn mass was above-average, and was surprised about the result.

Hunting regulations stipulate a ram is full curl when the tip of the horn breaks the plane running from the middle of the nostril to the bottom of the eye.

Sheep are also considered legal if they are at least eight years old, even if their horns don't break the plane.

Enforcement manager Kris Gustafson of Environment Yukon said this morning Fendrick's sheep was aged at six years old.

He said the horns and cape will be sold in the upcoming auction in March, and the 36 or so kilograms of meat will be used to support families and organizations in need, like the Salvation Army.

Fendrick has also been suspended from hunting during the 2012/13 season, and will have to complete a sheep hunting course before he's permitted to purchase another sheep tag.

The court ordered Fendrick's fines be paid into the Turn-in-Poachers program.

The TIP program is used to provide rewards for information received in the investigation of wildlife infractions. It's managed by the Yukon Fish and Game Association.

Gord Zealand, the association's executive director, said today the $1,750 in fines will raise the TIP fund to approximately $4,800, though the reward committee has not yet met to go over the list of potential rewards for 2011.

Comments (5)

Up 0 Down 0

flyingfur on Feb 3, 2012 at 6:04 am

In response to a lot of the other comments about Mr. Fendrick following the hunting regulations and just making an honest mistake, I'm wondering what the circumstances are around the damage/alterations to the eye socket. It seems suspicious to me that given the importance of that part of the animal to measure full curl that it was "turned in without the full socket" and the regulations are quite clear in several places that the submission must include the full eye socket and that given the number of undersized sheep harvested that any irregularities will be investigated and may result in charges under the Wildlife Act.

Matt N on Feb 3, 2012 at 5:18 am

Ive known Rob for about 12 years now and I commend him for trying to follow regulations. I think its absolutely shameful that he is given such a hard time about this by officials and especially by having his name and face put in the paper when he was clearly trying to do the right thing.

You may not agree with every decision he makes at work but he was not out hunting with the intentions of breaking the law and he clearly proved that with his actions.

Jdangles has it right. A LOT of people will reconsider being so honest with wilf life officials, not just for the fines but again for fear of having your name and face published in a paper for a mistake that could happen to almost any Yukoner.

June Jackson on Feb 3, 2012 at 3:48 am

I for one will not miss Fendrick and i hope the next city admin will provide better, less expensive advice and planning to council.

Best of luck to you, somewhere else.

Anonymous on Feb 3, 2012 at 1:47 am

I feel for Mr. Fendrick. He made an honest mistake and even the COE was surprised to find the sheep was 2 years younger than the legal age. I think that he should have been given some grace with this one as he was honest and turned in the skull and whether or not the eye socket was fully intact does not have anything to do with determining age of the sheep.

JDangles on Feb 2, 2012 at 8:24 am

So let me get this straight. Rob shoots a sheep under full curl, ok people make mistakes, even hunters are human. Instead of ditching the ram and tightening his lips he decides to do the right thing and take care of the meat, bring the horns in to whitehorse and report his own mistake. Commendable, yet he is still charged with $1750 in fines and loses his hunting rights for a year, in addition to his picture and name in the paper. I must say, I am a full supporter of ethical and responsible hunting, but this makes a person think twice about being honest with wildlife law enforcement in the future.

Whitehorse Daily Star