Skip to main content

The policy announced in December, after years of negotiations and mediation, had granted non-resident hunters access to 110 more animals than had been allowed under a previous agreement. Now, their increased share has been whittled down to 60 animals.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail

An angry backlash from recreational hunters over new big-game hunting rights has persuaded the B.C. government to backpedal on changes that had taken a decade to devise.

Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, said Friday he has completed his review of the new allocations that were announced in December, which led to "slight revisions" that give resident hunters a greater share of the number of hunting opportunities in some key areas – bighorn sheep in the Kootenays, for example.

The changes shift hunting rights for a total of 50 animals from non-resident to resident hunters.

The changes also adjust the allocations for moose, grizzly bears, Roosevelt elk and bison in select hunting areas.

Mr. Thomson said the matter is now closed – he expects to bring in these changes as legislation so there will be "certainty" for both local hunters and the guide outfitters who cater to non-residents.

"This is it. I have told both sides that we now want to move forward and look at the areas of wildlife management that both parties know we need to look at," he said in an interview.

"A very significant amount of time and effort has gone into this over the years – and recently. We want to finalize this and move staff priorities and resources to wildlife management issues broadly."

But George Wilson, president of the BC Wildlife Federation, said the changes do not go far enough and vowed the hunters' protests will continue.

"The federation is not going to support the minister's revised allocation policy," he said in an interview. "It is obvious he has listened, but he didn't go far enough. We are still paying the price."

He said the board of the federation, representing 46,000 hunters, fishers and conservationists, will meet over the weekend to discuss their next move. "We will be taking some action," he said, but added he would have preferred to move on. "This has been a long and drawn-out battle between three groups that need to be working together."

The policy announced in December, after years of negotiations and mediation, had granted non-resident hunters access to 110 more animals than had been allowed under a previous agreement. Now, their increased share has been whittled down to 60 animals.

Guide outfitters usually cater to foreign hunters who will pay thousands of dollars for a chance to shoot a grizzly or other big game. Their industry brings about $120-million to the provincial economy each year, but the province's 97,000 recreational hunters turned up the heat, not only on Mr. Thomson but others in the B.C. Liberal caucus.

"The decision generated a significant reaction and there was significant pressure," Mr. Thomson said. The debate was at times nasty and personal, he said, but he added he is hopeful the new allocations will be accepted.

He said he tailored the changes to address a handful of the hunts that were identified by the resident hunters, through the BC Wildlife Federation, as the most sensitive.

In December, Mr. Thomson announced the new allocation system that promised to be "a consistent and transparent policy that is fair to all wildlife user groups" because the decisions would no longer be made at the regional level.

Although those changes were developed after extensive consultation with both groups, leaders of the BC Wildlife Federation said at the time they were stunned by the new harvest allocations for big-game species, and organized rallies and petitions to protest the shift.

The percentage of permits allocated to resident hunters versus guide outfitters is known as the split. And it has long been an issue of contention between the wildlife federation and the 245 licensed guide outfitters in the province.

However more than 90 per cent of the 45,000 animals that are hunted by residents are not part of the allocation.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe