Why many people are disgruntled with APOS

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Lots of talk on another thread about outfitters. Discussion morphed into some members, myself included, expressing a lack of respect for APOS as a governing body when they do little or nothing to members, even a sitting president, when they were convicted of wildlife offences in a court of law. I thought I would give a bit of background, as a few people wondered why the disdain for APOS. Anyhow, here is the text of a story from the Edmonton Journal concerning a sitting president of APOS being convicted of poaching, and still maintaining the presidency of the organization. Stuff like this soils the reputation of the good guys too...

President of Alberta outfitters’ group survives ouster bid after unlawful killing of black bear

DAVID HOWELL
More from David Howell
Published on: August 27, 2015 | Last Updated: August 27, 2015 10:24 AM

EDMONTON – The president of the Alberta Professional Outfitters Society survived an internal bid to have him ousted after questions surfaced about his role in the unlawful killing of a black bear.

Months later, some society members remain upset that Glenn Brown is still president.

“Lots of people are so disgusted with the whole thing that we want out,” said Chris Franke, an outfitter and guide based in Hinton who helped the effort to remove Brown.

Brown’s presidency was challenged June 20 at the society’s annual general meeting in Nisku. Brown, 55, of Three Hills, faced a motion to “immediately remove” him. It was defeated 33-51.


Brown and Blue Bronna Holdings Ltd., a company he owns with his wife, had each been charged under the Wildlife Act with providing false or misleading information. Each charge carried a maximum possible fine of $50,000.

The charge against Brown was withdrawn in May 2013, one month after Blue Bronna was convicted and paid a $400 fine.

The case dated back to October 2010, according to a wildlife officer’s enforcement action report.

Brown was providing outfitting and guiding services to a Mississippi woman. She shot and killed a black bear near Blairmore but another bear was in the same location.

The report said Brown shot the second bear and later bought a hunting licence in the name of a Mississippi man. The man was in Alberta with Brown’s client but had not been part of the hunt.

The report said Brown used the tag for the second bear, an “unlawful” act. Hunters must hold a valid licence while hunting and can only tag wildlife they kill themselves.

The report said Brown gave a statement in which he said the woman wanted to keep the second bear. He said he tagged it “to expedite the export process to Mississippi.”

Brown had both bears taken to a Calgary taxidermist, the report said. On July 4, 2012, the taxidermist applied for an Alberta export permit using licence numbers Brown had provided. July 4, 2012 is listed as the date of the offence.

Brown addressed the issue at the APOS meeting in Nisku. The Journal obtained a recording of the meeting.

Brown told the meeting that after his client shot the first bear, “the other one wouldn’t go away.” He said he decided to shoot it “because I had a tag in my backpack.”

He said he considered having his client fire him before he killed the second bear because it’s illegal to hunt while guiding. But he decided to shoot the second bear.

“At the end of the day, it’s the wrong thing,” he told the meeting. “There’s wrong and there’s right and you don’t get to shoot a bear when you’re guiding.”

Brown said he talked to Fish and Wildlife and agreed to take a penalty for hunting while guiding. But instead he found himself charged with making a false statement. “I finally agreed to it because for $400 it just wasn’t worth anything,” he told the meeting.

Blue Bronna also paid a $2,000 fine in 2014 for trespassing. Brown had been guiding two American hunters near Red Deer. One killed a white-tailed deer. Brown didn’t have permission to be on the land.

Brown was elected APOS president in 2012 and re-elected in 2014. For months leading up to the annual meeting, some members were trying to find out if he had disclosed the convictions when he sought to renew his presidency.

Kelly Semple, an APOS vice-president, told the Nisku meeting the board had looked into it.

“In the process, that was identified as a problem,” Semple said. “Glenn thought he had disclosed it. We had no evidence that he did or he didn’t.”

The board ruled Brown had violated the society’s code of conduct and issued a letter of censure, Semple said.

In an interview, Brown suggested he has been a target for disgruntled APOS members who have other issues with the organization.

“There are people that want to cause problems, who feel ‘OK, we can move things by slamming somebody,’ that kind of thing.” he said. “That doesn’t help us a bit.”

dhowell@edmontonjournal.com

twitter.com/HowellEJ

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WHAT IS APOS?

The Alberta Professional Outfitters Society is responsible for managing the outfitting industry in Alberta on behalf of the provincial government.

More than 400 member outfitter-guides and about 1,500 guides are registered through the society. About 80 per cent of their clients come from the United States.

APOS issues outfitter-guide permits, collects fees from members, and manages the allocation of big-game and bird-game resources.

The society holds outfitter-guides to ethical standards and codes of conduct, and reviews incidents in which charges are laid under the Wildlife Act.

A recent report put the outfitting industry’s economic impact in Alberta at $105 million per year.