It's time like this we have to try to have faith in the government and give them a chance to either make things right, or highlight their ineffectiveness.
I'm not a sheep hunter, but I feel for you guys knowing how much effort goes into these types of hunts (I've met many sheep hunters on my solo mountain elk hunts).
I wrote the following to the Hon Mr. Jason Nixon and CC'd my MLA. I would encourage others to do the same. The squeaky wheel gets the grease - be as loud as the recent climate protesters (and more civilized and professional if possible). Also, forgive me if any of this is inaccurate, I'm not terribly familiar with the issue and more just wanted to raise it with the powers that be ASAP.
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Good Afternoon Mr. Nixon,
I am CC’ing Mr. Milliken as he is my local MLA.
I am very concerned to read of numerous recent accounts of ambiguous new regulations being applied to measure trophy sheep registrations across Alberta (associated with the
“jigs” and measurement systems newly implemented in 2019), and the multiple trophy sheep that are being judged as illegal (too short), despite expert opinions that this is not the case. The problem stems from an ambiguity of whether to measure from the eye socket or eyeball. In the field, the eye-socket is impossible to see or estimate, and eyeball has always been the generally accepted reference point. However, it appears that a few of the registration offices are enforcing the eye socket as the reference point, with no leniency for 2019 which is the introduction year for the new system. Reading the regulations and registration changes for 2019/2020, there is no indication of what would be used as the reference point. This is resulting in numerous cases of confiscated skulls and meat, which is a very unfortunate waste of Alberta’s resources and a waste of life for these animals.
In these cases, charges are not being laid (which is understandable as there needs to be some leniency for “very close”, which can be difficult to judge perfectly in the field), however these people have no recourse for appeal. I invite you to read of the numerous cases yourself, directly from the source (link below). Many of the victims of these confiscations are seeking legal recourse and the few legal professionals who specialize in fish & wildlife are in agreeance that their case is strong.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...95#post4036395
It would be ideal if AEP could get ahead of this and maybe issue a memo to all registration points with some direction on this - mostly to allow for some leniency on the eyeball vs. eye-socket issue (e.g. allow an additional 1 cm) for 2019 as this is the introduction year, prior to determining their path forward on how to implement this in future years in a way where this is not a recurring issue. As it stands, if many of these cases proceed to litigation it will be a further waste of taxpayer dollars and the time and effort of AEP and justice professionals on both sides.
Thank you,
czechm8