Sask. game bird licence changes signal crackdown on illegal outfitting

Legislative changes are coming that will make it harder for non-Saskatchewan outfitters to illegally do business in the province.

Once passed, non-residents will only be able to buy three five-day term licences to hunt game birds. One licence can be used in the spring and two in the fall.

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“Over the past several seasons, the Ministry of Environment has received concerns of instances of illegal outfitting activity occurring within the game bird hunting sector,” said Minister of Environment Darlene Rowden, who is also the MLA for Batoche.

“Non-residents have been purchasing full season licences and then offering unauthorized outfitting services.”

Having time-limited licences gives conservation officers a tool to use when they find a violation and limits associated risks.

Currently, game bird hunters buy one licence that lasts the entire season and get the same time whether they are a resident of Saskatchewan, Canada or a foreigner.

Todd Smith, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation said that the resident hunters represented by his organization have noticed issues for years.

“Our membership has been on this for years as a problem,” he said.

“We’re noticing it more and more in the last few years as neighbouring jurisdictions have had this legislation in place already. It’s forcing non-residents into essentially what was the only open void within the Prairies.”

Another complaint amongst locals and Saskatchewan outfitters has been those doing it illegally being allowed on farmland to hunt and local hunters or outfitters then being turned away.

While no one is conducting a census of geese and ducks to see what the impact on bird population has been, Saskatchewan outfitters lose revenue when hunters pay illegal outfitters for the same service.

Jordan Roswell of 12 Gauge Outfitting near North Battleford is also the board chair of the Saskatchewan Commission of Professional Outfitters (SCPO).

“Illegal outfitting has been a thing for a very long time, especially in the waterfowl game bird industry. What it does is it creates unnecessary competition. An illegal outfitter isn’t afraid to break any other laws that might be there,” he said.

“At its core, it’s taking away from a Saskatchewan-owned resource and Saskatchewan business as well.”

While a lot of the illegal outfitting has been coming from south of the Canadian border, the issue is prevalent across Saskatchewan.

Both Smith and Roswell said the changes will benefit provincial outfitters and neither believes there will be any negative impact to the industry as a whole.

Both also believe that the changes are a first step towards solving a long-standing issue.

“It’s one of a host of different tools that we continue to work on in the future to curb it even further. This is sort of step one,” Roswell said.

Both groups have been advocating for changes for some time and are welcoming the movement.

“The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation applauds this initial step by the Ministry of Environment and the Government of Saskatchewan for recognizing the challenges faced by resident waterfowl hunters in the province,” Smith said.

More details will be released in the coming months, including the consequences for violations.

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