American hunter, Canadian guide fined over Yukon hunt

An American big-game hunter and his Canadian guide have been fined $26,500 for wasting meat and hunting illegally in Yukon.

Brian Tallerrico and Abe Dougan plead guilty in Territorial Court. They were sentenced on Wednesday.

Dougan, the guide, is from British Columbia. He was guiding Wyoming resident Tallerico on the hunt in 2011. Tallerico wanted to bag a Yukon Stone Sheep to complete what is called a North American "grand slam." The bragging right is earned after hunting the four different North American wild sheep, which are the Dall, Stone, Bighorn, and Desert Bighorn.

The court heard that Tallerrico and Dougan were on a remote backpack hunt with two other people off the South Canol Road in central Yukon.

The group saw a caribou just minutes after landing by airplane. They killed it less than two hours after landing instead of waiting the required six hours.

Over the next four days the hunters also killed a sheep, a moose and a grizzly bear. Authorities became suspicious when they reported their kills and produced only about 90 kilograms of meat.

All of the caribou meat was wasted as well as some of the meat from the sheep and the moose.  Digital photos seized from the hunt also showed the men lied about the date of the caribou kill to conceal the fact they hunted within six hours of flying.

Dougan, the guide, was fined $15,000 and has been prohibited from hunting and guiding in Yukon for 20 years. Tallerico, the hunter, must pay $11,500 to the Yukon's turn-in-poachers tip fund. 

The animals' hides and trophies were confiscated by the Yukon government.