Rankin Inlet HTO enacts temporary ban on hunting caribou for selling

Ban in place until end of calving season, organization says

Hunters in Rankin Inlet are banned from hunting caribou for the purpose of selling the meat until this year’s calving season ends in late May or early June. (Photo by David Kakuktinniq)

By Madalyn Howitt

Hunters in Rankin Inlet have been temporarily banned from selling their hunted caribou.

They will only be permitted to hunt caribou for personal consumption until the calving season is over sometime in late May or early June, said Andre Aokaut, manager of the Kangiqliniq Hunters and Trappers Organization.

The organization’s board voted to enact the ban on April 18 due to concerns about overhunting, Aokaut said.

“Caribou are starting their migration into the calving grounds to give birth, so the board made a motion to stop for the purpose of selling caribou,” he said.

“There are a lot of concerns about caribou sales in the region. Every year it’s the same thing … a lot of meat wasted and whatnot.”

The hunters and trappers organization will notify the public when the temporary ban is lifted, Aokaut said.

There aren’t any financial penalties or legal consequences in place if anyone is found to be selling caribou meat during the ban, he said, but that could change depending on what the board decides and if someone is caught.

“We’ll see what happens from now until then,” Aokaut said.

 

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(26) Comments:

  1. Posted by really on

    local HTO can over ride the beneficiary agreement??? that can’t be correct is it NTI??? If GN tried this it would already be in court LOL

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    • Posted by The Nunavut Agreement says… on

      From the Nunavut Agreement:
      Article 5, Part 7.3

      The powers and functions of the HTOs shall include the following

      (a) the regulation of harvesting practices and techniques among members, including the use of non-quota limitations.

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    • Posted by Southerner in the North on

      You need to read Article 5.7 of the Nunavut Agreement

      5.7.1

      In addition to the functions given to the NWMB, the exercise of harvesting by Inuit shall be overseen by HTOs and RWOs.

      5.7.3

      The powers and functions of HTOs shall include the following:

      (a) the regulation of harvesting practices and techniques among members, including the use of non-quota limitations;

      (b) the allocation and enforcement of community basic needs levels and adjusted basic needs levels among members;

      (c) the assignment to non-members, with or without valuable consideration and conditions, of any portion of community basic needs levels and adjusted basic needs levels; and

      (d) generally, the management of harvesting among members.

      5.7.11

      No by-law or decision of an HTO or RWO shall unreasonably prevent the individual Inuk from harvesting for the purpose of meeting the consumption needs of himself or herself and his or her dependents.

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      • Posted by Hunter on

        Nunavut beneficiary can barter, sell what they harvest, sad how mining company get away with a lot of animal harrassment and meat plant always get more than the quota, nothing is done. Soon as Inuit get chance to do something they are the bad hunters. Hunters in Rankin you can sell what you harvest, no one can stop you from selling.

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        • Posted by Nimrod on

          Doesn’t the meat plant use commercial quota, which is the most heavily regulated of all?

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          • Posted by Umingmak on

            Yup, and the mines are held to extremely strict environmental regulations. If they don’t follow the regulations, they receive enormous fines, and can even be shut down.

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        • Posted by Not the same meaning lol on

          Barter means “exchange (goods or services) for other goods or services without using money.”

        • Posted by Ovanga on

          This is outrageous, the more they keep it up the more stress they put on the herd. It’s a tool for conservation and it should be followed. If it keeps going on and double year after year the caribou can be decimated and we will have nothing to hunt.

    • Posted by monty sling on

      Rankin HTO, heros…..

  2. Posted by Nunavuttmiut in the East on

    Good Job! We need to think of the future of our animals, if we want a healthy population of the caribou then we must take these actions seriously!

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  3. Posted by Amend NLCA on

    Time to amend Agreement nobody should be allowed to sell caribou meat without a license period! No regulation people in baffin getting ripped off by greedy Kivvaliqmiut. Canadian North gotta start charging FULL PRICR for cargo too.

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    • Posted by hermann kliest on

      Amen to Amend nlca……

  4. Posted by Inuk guy on

    Good job Rankin + Coral – Leading by example!!!! Time for other HTO to follow.

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  5. Posted by Nupapiaq on

    Disposition of Harvest
    5.7.30 Subject to Sections 5.6.26 to 5.6.30 and 5.7.31 to 5.7.33, an Inuk shall have the right to dispose freely to any person any wildlife lawfully harvested. The right to dispose shall include the right to sell, barter, exchange and give, either inside or
    outside the Nunavut Settlement Area.

    Adjusted Basic Needs Level
    5.6.26 The NWMB shall periodically review the basic needs level for each stock or
    population and determine whether an additional allocation is required to meet any or all of:
    (a) increased consumption or use by Inuit;
    (b) intersettlement trade; and
    (c) marketing for consumption or use in the Nunavut Settlement Area.

    5.6.30 The NWMB shall conduct its review for various stocks or populations from time to time as requested by the appropriate Minister, by an HTO or RWO, or by a
    member of the NWMB.

    5.7.31 An Inuk may be required by the appropriate government agency to obtain a
    permit to transport wildlife outside the Nunavut Settlement Area. If such a
    permit is required, the federal or territorial government agency shall issue the
    permit upon demand, unless it has good cause for refusing, and the permit may
    contain terms and conditions as established by laws of general application.
    Unless the wildlife in question has been harvested from the surplus, any fee for
    such permit shall be waived.

    5.7.33 Inuit are subject to laws of general application regarding the sale or offer for sale of any migratory bird, migratory bird’s egg, or parts thereof.

  6. Posted by Name Withheld on

    HTO’s and Municipalities (CEDO)’s buys caribou, beluga whale and arctic char from community members who then either give to the community members or Kivalliq Meat and Fish plant .

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  7. Posted by Qavvigarjuk on

    The now elders who negotiated the land claims agreement in the early nineties, did not foresee that one day the population of Nunavut would sharply increase decades later and would put a lot of pressure on the finite wildlife resources in Nunavut. Wildlife are not limitless. Climate change is putting a lot of challenges on wildlife trying to adapt, disturbances of
    mineral exploration, mines across Nunavut and hunting pressure from a now
    larger human Population in our territory are all taking a toll on wildlife. They figured that the cultural sharing ( giving away) of country food to community members would continue as it had for centuries. Unfortunately in most communities this no longer happens. Many people have food insecurity. Instead We now have a lot of people selling meat and not sharing with family and community. Greed has set in instead with sales of wildlife and no regard for the future. it is time that the land claims get revised to aknowledge present conditions. it is no longer sustainable to make a living strickly by harvesting wildlife, fish. One must have a job to help pay for expensive hunting equipment and gas . That is the reality today.

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    • Posted by S on

      Thank you, Qavvigarjuk, there is much, much truth to what you say; much to learn and gain from your assessment and interpretation. It is important that you do not confuse cause and effect that would diminish your credibility.

      For example, there is no such thing as “[c]limate change is putting a lot of challenges on wildlife trying to adapt…”. That the glacier ice has been receding from the land for the past 8,000 years is a benefit to wildlife – not a challenge to them. As recently as 3,000 years ago, the land around Southern Baffin was under a kilometer-thick sheet of ice. Not much grazing then. Perhaps it’s time for a bit of caribou ranching on that growing rangeland!

      Further “… disturbances of mineral exploration, mines across Nunavut … are all taking a toll on wildlife.” is also not a thing. There are more than 2 million square kilometers in Nunavut Territory. Mining, mines disturb less than one-tenth of 1% of that. The environmental restrictions are hefty at those mines. There is no smelting or anything even approaching refining.

      The disturbance caused by any one Nunavut hamlet’s population and activity is significantly higher than the combined “disturbance of all the mines here; as it should be.

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      • Posted by Qavvigarjuk on

        What I meant for climate change, example: caribou are being affected in The Kivalliq region by warmer temperatures. There are more fly species now that bother caribou in the summertime ( makes them weaker by sucking too much
        blood) and keep them running to avoid them which prevents them from grazing as they need to regain condition to raise their calves and make it through the next winter. 30 years ago we had no black flies on the coast neither did we have deer flies in south Kikalliq coast. Those are very bothersome to wildlife, birds and mammals. As for the mines in the Kivalliq, you can clearly see that migrating caribou are having difficulty and are afraid to cross the mine roads ( from collaring data), Caribou are being turned around, not going where they need to go. This is very clear to see , ask any biologist. The mine roads also provides easyer access for hunters to hunt caribou zooming up and down by ATV . You cannot travel that fast on the land. Quick movement alone freaks out caribou or any other wildlife along
        the road. This has been devastating for the Bathurst herd out of Yellowknife. we are seeing it happening too in The Kivalliq region. over there people hunting with pickup trucks for many years.

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    • Posted by hermann kliest on

      kivalliqmiut, arviatmiut got pretty greedy, shameless. can I put in first names? they were shamelessly greedy lot mainly 3 from this southern community.

  8. Posted by Nunavumiut on

    I think country food should never be sold anyway as there was no such thing until Kivalliq heard how Iqalumiuit could not hunt no more for Tuktu, they started selling everyday and going out to shoot 11 caribou all at once in one day. It is always about money first only errrr feed your inuqatiiks and stop using Tuktu to be greedy. On top of that Kivalliqmiut has been known for years to rip people off like $500 for Caribou they did not even bother to ship to the person who paid.
    One thing I want to say to Kivalliqmiut is to get a real job and stop using Tuktus to pay for your bad habits and just be kind give free inuksiut.

    Name Withheld please.

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    • Posted by Nunavuttmiut in the East on

      Greedy to buy and Greedy to sell. Maybe Iqalungmiut should stop buying. Simple.

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  9. Posted by John WP Murphy on

    I often wondered how country food could be sold without having been inspected by the Food Inspection Agency.
    Is there something special going on that ensures country food is not harmful?

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    • Posted by Old timer on

      We don’t farm them why do they need to be tested sick caribou will not last long and I don’t get skinning caribou and with wolves around them sick ones don’t last a day I never got sick yet 50 years now eating it raw.

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    • Posted by Young timer on

      John wp Murphy, dude, food inspected by the agency is by far way more harmful than country food. We inspect our own food and know when its harmful.

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    • Posted by eskimo joe on

      I have been eating it for 70 yrs Paul, no harm, worry about your Alberta beef puffed up with asteroids.

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