Dene leaders lobby for control of caribou hunt

One of the main topics of discussion during the Deneleadership meeting this week in Dettah, N.W.T., was caribouand who has right to hunt it.

Tensions have been high after severalYellowknivesDenehunters had caribou meat confiscatedearlier this year for hunting without tags.

Since January 2010, hunting of caribou in the Bathurst herd's winter range has been banned, after its population dropped to 32,000 from186,000 in 2003.

Starting in December 2010,the GNWTreinstated a limited hunt for First Nations. It issues150 caribou tags to the Tlichoand 150 to the Yellowknives Deneannually.

But some Dene leaders say they're sick of having to deal with assigned tags, and want control over thehunt.

K'atlodeeche Chief Roy Fabian says he wants justice for the Dene people who have had their meat confiscated.

"The premier should go hunting and give all that meat back to the people ... because he's breaking the law."

Environment Minister Michael Miltenberger says it's not about power, it's about protecting what's left.

"When it comes to wildlife conservation, that issue trumps the right to harvest," he said. "There is no right for anybody to hunt the herd to the point where they can't survive."

Miltenbergersaysthe restrictionswill be lifted once the Bathurst caribou population recovers, and saysmeat confiscated by ENR is not wasted.

"The meat would be taken away and ...either before it gets to court or when it gets to court, then the JP or the judge would usually dictate how the meat is to be put to use, usually [to] elders or others in the community."