Lack of Diligence Causing Concern for the
Thompson and Fraser Rivers Bighorn Sheep Open Seasons

The Thompson Region bighorn general open season is being closely monitored and its existence is balancing precariously at this time. Poor lamb survival and greater than normal adult mortalities due to a suspected combination of illness and predation are a concern for biologists with respect to both the Rocky Mountain sheep along the Thompson and California sheep populations on the Fraser. Biologists feel there is room for a general open season, but there is a delicate balance of expected hunter kills that is being tipped to the unacceptable side by the addition of unnecessary mortalities of immature and undersized rams as a result of irresponsible hunting practices. The examples at the end of this article signify some of the unacceptable occurrences that are the basis for this concern. All of these examples occurred during the 2004 general open sheep season in Region 3, and there were more. Thompson region biologist Doug Jury is currently seriously considering going to Limited Entry only for sheep hunting in areas of the Thompson Region due to the number of illegal rams being shot.

The Thompson Region bighorn sheep general open season currently runs from September 10 to October 20. The sheep population in the south portion of Management unit 3-17 (the Spences Bridge herd), consists of Rocky Mountain bighorns and in this area a ram must meet the Wildlife Act definition of a “mature” bighorn to be considered legal. In the north portion of MU 3-17, as well as all of 3-31 and 3-32, the sheep population consists of California bighorns, and during the general open season a ram must meet “full curl” size requirements to be legal in these areas.

The general open season designed in such a way is advantageous in that it provides equal opportunity for all interested hunters to plan hunts to fit their schedules, and to return year after year to hunt the same areas and learn about the geography of a favourite location and habits of the sheep they are hunting in that area. Adherence to horn restrictions is critical to maintaining this opportunity, as horn restrictions are designed to facilitate a small harvest of mature rams, while maintaining the populations of immature rams and older rams that do not and may never achieve legal size requirements. If these restrictions are not strictly adhered to and unacceptable numbers of immature and illegal rams are being killed, the ratio of rams to ewes and the number of older rams in a herd may be compromised, and the next alternative is to further restrict and control the allowable harvest via limited entry hunts.

Responsible hunting starts with knowing and adhering strictly to the rules governing this open season, and maintaining a responsible approach throughout any hunt. The majority of hunters that enjoy this open season already fit into that category, but those that don’t are threatening the existence of the season for everyone. If hunters want to continue to enjoy this opportunity, even the most diligent participants should be doing their part by ensuring those they hunt with or others they observe hunting behave appropriately, and by reporting those that don’t.

Of critical importance for both the “mature” and the “full curl” bighorn definitions is that the horns must be viewed squarely from the side. As any experienced sheep hunter knows, the extent of the tips of a ram’s horns in relation to its head can appear to vary depending on the angle of view, and sheep horns viewed from below or behind tend to appear to extend further than they do when viewed squarely from the side. It is the responsibility of the hunter to make sure the proper view is obtained before deciding upon legality of the ram. On any given situation where a ram is spotted the time it takes to get that square view will vary. It may take 5 minutes, 5 hours, or may never be achieved. That is the nature of sheep hunting and must be expected and accepted by any hunter who intends to act responsibly.

Arguably, any bighorn that is more than 1 inch over or under legal requirements is not that difficult to judge if a hunter acts diligently and waits for that perfect view. For that other category of sheep for which legality or the lack thereof is a question of millimetres, (affectionately called squeakers), the responsibility still lies with the hunter. The safest approach in these cases is, “if you are not absolutely sure, don’t shoot!” Nobody ever got themselves into trouble by passing up a squeaker. Keep in mind, if you shoot a ram that is only millimetres short, the key word here is still “short”. It is not legal. Do not assume that because it is close, it should be yours. Amount of shortness is one factor an officer will consider when looking at the diligence of the hunt and in considering what discretion to use with the hunter in an investigation, but closeness does not change legality.

Every conservation officer knows that mistakes happen even with the most diligent hunters. So many variables can factor into the outcome of a hunt that sometimes it seems little or nothing could have been done differently, and still the outcome was an illegal animal. Regardless of the circumstances, it is of the utmost importance that any hunter that kills an animal he knows or suspects may be illegal immediately contacts the nearest Conservation Officer Service. Cancel your species tag, field dress the animal, then get to the nearest phone as soon as possible.

Each case is assessed on its own circumstances so I can not tell you what your final outcome would be, but what I can tell you is that if you act responsibly throughout the occurrence, before and after the hunt, and you are completely honest about all circumstances that led to the mistake, the outcome will be much more in your favour than if you choose to be deceptive or refuse to accept responsibility for your actions. It is not uncommon for warnings to be issued to hunters who act diligently but mistakenly kill an illegal animal. With respect to any short sheep occurrence, do not expect to get the animal back. Those that maintain a short ram should be theirs because they shot it, it was close to legal, or they passed up legal animals in the past are not acting responsibly. If it was not legal, it should not have been killed and it never was rightfully yours.

The number of variables that factor into sheep hunting can make finding that legal ram seem next to impossible sometimes. It is well known that sheep possess keen senses. Combine this with steep terrain they inhabit, variable weather, hunter exhaustion, etc., and you have the potential for mistakes. That is what sheep hunting is all about though, and if a hunter expects these conditions and is prepared for them, that is also what makes sheep hunting challenging and enjoyable. Participate in each hunt with the knowledge that you are getting exercise, seeing some magnificent scenery and beautiful animals - not with the attitude you need to kill a ram at any cost. No matter how hard you have worked, how many close calls you have had, or how many squeakers you have passed up in the past, that mountain does not owe you a sheep. Exhaustion, frustration or egos must never outweigh the need to act responsibly, for if this pattern of irresponsibility continues, this general open season for sheep that so many of us enjoy may become a memory and we may all be applying for Limited Entry hunts in this area at unfavourable odds. Be safe, be responsible, and we can continue to enjoy the Region 3 general open season for sheep.

Bob Butcher
Conservation Officer
Lillooet

This 3.5 year old Spences Bridge rocky is over 5 cm short of being legal in the “Mature Ram” area. Two hunters, with over 10 years sheep hunting experience each, took less than 10 seconds judging this ram which was situated uphill from them on a 30-40 degree slope. The hunter never contacted a Conservation Officer despite other hunters telling him it was short of mature. He maintained the ram should be rightfully his because a Compulsory Inspection contractor accidentally measured it as being legal under the “Full Curl” regulation rather than short under the “Mature Ram” regulation.

A hunter who has hunted sheep most of his life gave the go ahead to his partner to shoot this 7.5 year old California. It is more than 8cm short of full curl on its longest side (shown). The ram was shot along the Fraser River north of Lillooet in the “Full Curl” area. After realizing it was not legal, the hunters attempted to pass it off as a mature (10 year old) sheep that was shot in the “Mature Ram” area south of Lillooet. The next day, another hunter in the same group wounded another ram by attempting to shoot it from over 400 metres away. Whether that ram ultimately survived is unknown.

This young California bighorn was accidentally shot by a hunter who thought he could pick off a legal ram standing amongst a group of others at a distance of 460 metres. He killed the wrong one. Years earlier, one of the others involved in this hunt was involved in the killing of another California ram which was seized because it was short. He subsequently fought throughout the ensuing process concerning that sheep to obtain the right to reclaim it.