Saskatchewan hunting mismanagement criticized by owner of Big Buck magazine

The editor of Saskatchewan-based Big Buck magazine says that mismanagement of hunting licenses in the province is so "appalling" in the province that he fears for the very existence of some populations of deer and moose.

In a letter to the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Garry Donald takes issue with conservation officers saying that game animals are flourishing because fewer American hunters are coming to the province because of the recession. In fact, his letter says, deer numbers in the central and southern regions of the province are much lower than the ministry states. Even in northern Saskatchewan, whitetail deer were reduced by 70 to 80% by the severe winter of 2006-07.

To prove the ministry has lost touch with all reality with game management, here's another example. In a 150-km radius of Rosetown alone, 300 bull moose and 400 cow moose tags were issued. All across central and southern zones, many more moose will be eliminated.

I strongly believe that we need to control game populations through hunting, but to issue that many tags in one season makes no sense. If you have never seen a moose in the wild, you have until Oct. 1 to do so. After that, your chances will be bleak.