[Ratlander]

Originally Posted by SLH

I have to say this seems like a silly, naive, ill-informed statement.

I dont know the lucky winner outside a couple online comments but by all accounts this is a good guy with a passion and some means. He is definitely a friend of hunting in general and sheep hunting specifically. I have no problem with him buying all these tickets within the rules of theze raffles. That doesn't mean that the system isn't flawed.

The idea of these auction tags to raise money did in fact smell a little like paid hunting, so to balance the field the raffle was incorporated so people like myself that don't have the means can still add their donation to the cause with the added benefit of an oppurtunity to win the same tag. This system fit the ethics of North American hunting much better than a straight auction that most of us can't participate in.

Next any raffle in Alberta over 10 000 has a minimum payout of 25%, which means if this tag is worth 100 000 at the auction then the raffle could legally print 400 000 in tickets. As it stands this raffle is lossing money. Also you can't limit the number of tickets to any person, that is why last year after AFGA tried to limit ticket sales they had to change back. If the value of the tickets available is less than the real value of the tag then this is just good common sense if you can get them all, but it doesn't stand up to the intent of what it is supposed to represent.

If the intent of this raffle is to raise money and offer an oppurtunity for all Alberta hunters to add their money to that cause then they should up the value of tickets available by either increasing the number of tickets or uping the price of each ticket, at the very least, to match the value of the auction tag value. There is no other big ticket lottery that has a prize that exceeds the value of the tickets available.

This is by no means a criticism of the tag winner, I'd be competing with him for those tickets if I had the means but it is a flawed system as it is setup.

Yup-well said