Arizona will stop auctioning big game tags

[Brent in Az]

I don't agree with the vote. I'm all for conservation. It takes money.
Let the wealthy guys spend the money on auction tags.

Arizona Will Stop Auctioning Big-Game Tags to the Wealthiest Hunters

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted to eliminate big-game tag auctions, which currently fund the bulk of wildlife conservation in the state.

www.outdoorlife.com

 

[JimP]

The hunters in the states that have these auctions figure that if they eliminate the auctions and the tag give a way's that it will be easier to draw a tag in their annual big game draws. But in reality their odds of drawing one of the tags will only go up slightly, but you can't tell them that. All they see is the few hundred tags that are given away each and every year to contest such as Arizona's Super Tags.

Utah is in the same boat, but I have no idea of the agreement that their DOW has with the folks that sell the chances to get a tag or the give a way's.

 

[Brent in Az]

Arizona still has the super raffle for various species.

 

[JimP]

Seams like I read somewhere that this was the last year for it also.

 

[Brent in Az]

If the auction/raffle tags are completely eliminated, that loss of conservation money will have to be made up somewhere else.
Possibly higher prices on tags & licenses?
I don't know?

 

[DPHunter4570]

Doesn't seem like a good idea to me. It's going to be very hard to replace those conservation dollars.

 

[poco]

I am ok with it, those tags are abuse by lobbyists of the different foundations they represent, also states imo should not have slush tags for media influencers and YouTube channels, I remember when Randy newberg was getting paid by the State tourism boards to make content, the tourism industry then lobbied under the table to the state wildlife department to issue permits to his company and media influencers
same for Idaho WSF president lobbying the commissionors for big horn tags ( think he was forced to resign as president??)
I know in Texas you have about a .0001% chance at a BHS permit after the big boys play in the raffle

 

[LucasK]

Raffle tags are antithetical to the North American model of wildlife management. They represent a commercialization of the resource and limit access at the same time.

 

[Safari Dave]

Wyoming does something similar...





I buy a "lottery ticket" every year for sheep, goat, moose, mule deer, and elk...

 

[Green Chile]

Auction tags may be controversial...but how will those dollars be sourced when they are gone? I don't care what happens to the tag or who buys it...if they will bid high enough. It's conservation dollars.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I was told, eliminating this tag had more to do with what AZG&F viewed as unethical hunting when the auction winner would fly in on a private jet, get choppered up to the hunting area, get driven out to a bull that a bunch of high school kids have been keeping and eye on, pull the trigger, take some photos and be choppered back to his/her jet and headed home that day.

I agree its elimination is a detriment to conservation. My .02 is if AZ really wanted to prevent the above scenario(s) they could've instituted something about not hunting the same day you fly (like what Alaska has), or something about a maximum number of people in a hunting party, distance one has to be from a vehicle, etc.

 

[HankBuck]

I don't agree with the vote. I'm all for conservation. It takes money.
Let the wealthy guys spend the money on auction tags.

Arizona Will Stop Auctioning Big-Game Tags to the Wealthiest Hunters

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted to eliminate big-game tag auctions, which currently fund the bulk of wildlife conservation in the state.

www.outdoorlife.com

Agree, I understand the resentment from Locals/residents/average hunters have and the envy they have towards those with unlimited funds but the $$ obtained from those tags is significant and much it gets put towards a good cause. I think it’s a mistake to eliminate those Super Tag and Auction tags —- unless an alternative way to raise as much or more $$$ has been implemented.

 

[McKenzie Sims]

The fact that they still are keeping the super raffle tags is sort of contradicting to it all, the same guy who has bought the last two tags also won last years by buying $250,000 in tickets. Most of the guys that win the big raffle tags play them extremely heavy so for part of the conversation that doing this is to be giving average hunters a better chance at getting a "conservation or Governors tag" is false sure sometimes the money doesn’t prevail but is a game of odds and when one or two guys hold most the tickets odds are far better for them. I believe this will make the odds of the raffle tags much harder more guys will be playing with bigger numbers without being able to buy the tag at auction.