Big interest in Alberta bighorn sheep licence
Alberta’s magnificent bighorn sheep are on solid footing as the most valued trophy of North American sheep hunters.
They reached that pinnacle at a sheep hunters’ auction in Salt Lake, City, Utah, during the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo January 19 and 20.
The exclusive Minister’s Special Licence for Bighorn Sheep, offered annually by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, sold for $155,000 (U.S.) at the auction. The licence brought almost double the $80,000 price achieved in 2006.
Ted Morton, Minister of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and an avid hunter, attended the auction to promote quality hunting experiences in Alberta. The Expo, the largest of its kind in North America, is hosted by the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, the Mule Deer Foundation and Sportsmen for Habitat.
A man from Sherwood Park, Alberta, purchased the Special Licence for Bighorn Sheep this year. The Minister’s Special Licence for Bighorn Sheep offers three-and-a-half months of hunting in Alberta. It also provides the exclusive opportunity to hunt bighorn sheep from December 1 to 15, after all other seasons have closed.
The Special Licence for Elk was purchased for $18,000 (U.S.) at the event. The elk licence provides special privileges to hunt anywhere in Alberta open for elk hunting. It also offers exclusive trophy hunting for the month of December, for four weeks after the regular season closes.
Alberta residents will have the chance to enter a draw this year for one Minister’s Special Licence for Bighorn Sheep and and one Special Licence for Elk. A total of 7,500 sheep tickets and 2, 500 elk tickets will be available to Albertans at only $10 each. The draw will be held August 24, 2007 in Calgary at the Calgary Firearms Centre.
Over the last 10 years, the Minister’s Special Licences for Bighorn Sheep and Elk have raised about $3 million. These funds have been used for more than 80 wildlife conservation projects across Alberta.
