Tagging/ Deboning Big Game

[WOOKIE]

Over the last few weeks, I have learned some new big game field care techniques and I have a few questions to ensure we are within the law.

When we have an animal down we have been skinning and deboning the animal right away in the field without gutting the animal. We can even get the tenderloins out from under the ribs without gutting.

Anyways, now the animal has been reduced to a carcass and a container of meat to be cut and wrapped.

Question 1. What do we do with the tag? Does it stay on the carcass in the bush or should we be removing the tag from the carcass and leaving it with the meat. The regulations in Alberta state that the animal must remain tagged until delivered to the usual residence of the hunter or to a butcher or abitior licenced in repect of the Food Inspection Agency.

Question 2. What about evidence of species and sex? For all intents and purposes, the animal has been processed in the bush. Does the evidence need to be retained any further?

Question 3. The meat from a legally harvested animal is processed and packaged at a friend's house 450 KM from my residence. Am I legal to transport this processed and packaged meat without a tag and evidence of sex and species?

Please Discuss.

[WOOKIE]

Here are a few quotes from the 2007 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations

Tags must remain affixed until, in the case of

trophy sheep, goat - the animal is registered (click here or scroll down to view Compulsory Registration) and the skin is processed.
moose, elk, deer, antelope or non-trophy sheep - the carcass is delivered to the usual residence of the person who killed the animal or to a premises (i.e., meat plant or butcher shop) in respect of which there is a Food Establishment Permit issued under the Public Health Act or Licence for the Operation of an Abattoir issued under the Meat Inspection Act and the carcass is actually being butchered, cut and packaged for consumption.
bear and cougar - the skin is processed.


It is unlawful to remove the distinctive evidence of sex and species from the carcass of any big game until the carcass is delivered to
the usual residence of the person who killed it, and the animal is butchered, cut and packaged for consumption, or
a premises in respect of which there is a Food Establishment Permit issued under the Public Health Act or a Licence for the Operation of an Abattoir issued under the Meat Inspection Act.


Evidence of sex, species and class must be retained (cannot be surgically or otherwise removed) on the carcass of big game animals, except black bear, until the carcass is delivered to either of the following:

the usual residence of the person who killed the animal, and the carcass is actually being butchered, cut up and packaged for consumption. In the case of grizzly bear or cougar, the evidence of sex must be retained until the animal has been registered (click here or scroll down to view Compulsory Registration), or
a premises* in respect of which there is a Food Establishment Permit issued under the Public Health Act or Licence for the Operation of an Abattoir issued under the Meat Inspection Act.

*Note: The evidence of sex, species or class cannot be removed until it is delivered to one of these premises.
The evidence of sex, species or class that must be retained is as follows:

moose, elk, deer, antelope and non-trophy sheep - attached to the same part of the animal to which the tag is affixed, one of the following:
testicles, scrotum, or udder, and in the case of deer only, the completely haired tail, orthe head with horns or antlers attached if the animal has horns or antlers, or
the head (complete with the skin on it) if the animal has no horns or antlers, and
in addition,
the complete skull plate with horns or antlers intact must be retained with the carcass of the male antelope, male elk or male non-trophy sheep
the complete head must be retained with the carcass of a calf moose harvested under authority of a Calf Moose Special Licence.


cougar - one of the following attached to the skin and visible:
in the case of a male, the scrotum
in the case of a female, a teat or a portion of a mammary gland.
To retain the scrotum or udder, cut to one side of the scrotum or udder when opening the animal for gutting. If you skin your game, the scrotum or udder must remain attached to the meat. If you remove testicles and penis, leave the entire scrotum intact. The meat will not be tainted.

[WOOKIE]

Anyone?

[Killer420]

To be safe, I would gut the animal, tag it, transport it, process it, then and only then would I get rid of the carcass. According to the rules, this is what must be done in order to comply with all regulations, it may involve an extra step or two in having to get rid of the carcass after processing, but them's the rules!!

[dschade]

Fishing isn't much different. I have to transport my walleye whole, the only thing I can do is gut them. To be safe you'd have to get your carcass home before you can debone.

[WOOKIE]

I have the same questions through to F&W. We will see what they have to say. I think you guys are wrong as guys have been deboning Elk and Sheep to get them out of the mountains for years.

[Travski]

Just got off the phone with the local Fish and Wildlife officer here is what he says must be done

The person must take with him the back quarter with evidence of sex on the animal with him to his residence, with the tag attached. You can bone out all other meat but one quarter with evidence of sex on it must accompany the hunter home to be processed.

Guys who are out there deboning whole elk and moose beware if you get caught they will ticket you unfort, this makes for a hard way of getting the animals out of the bush but it is the law.

Trav

[WOOKIE]

Travski and I have just had a conversation regarding this after he called F&W. It seems you can debone a big game animal, but you must retain the rear quarter with evidence of species, evidence of sex, and tag attached. There is nothing saying that this leg cannot be deboned. You just need enough meat on it to keep the sack, nut or tit attached. Thed tail will stay attached as it is part of the spine and we will cut the spine just forward of the hip.

Good and legal we are!

[scooter]

Travski and I have just had a conversation regarding this after he called F&W. It seems you can debone a big game animal, but you must retain the rear quarter with evidence of species, evidence of sex, and tag attached. There is nothing saying that this leg cannot be deboned. You just need enough meat on it to keep the sack, nut or tit attached. Thed tail will stay attached as it is part of the spine and we will cut the spine just forward of the hip.

Good and legal we are!
Now you just have to shoot something wook :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[WOOKIE]

Now you just have to shoot something wook :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


I have shot 4 mule deer in the last week and scared many more, I will have you know!

:wtf:

[scooter]

I have shot 4 mule deer in the last week and scared many more, I will have you know!

:wtf:
uh huh...I've seen you shoot...Ariana put em down for ya, didn't she? :laugh:

[russ]

uh huh...I've seen you shoot...Ariana put em down for ya, didn't she? :laugh:

why not just line up ol' wook and give him a :nutkick:

of course he is a wee bit bigger than you :lol:

[WOOKIE]

why not just line up ol' wook and give him a :nutkick:

of course he is a wee bit bigger than you :lol:

Scott's kick only reaches the tops of my boot laces, and I wear running shoes.

[scooter]

Scott's kick only reaches the tops of my boot laces, and I wear running shoes.
Ya, but yer ankles are gonna HURT!

[WOOKIE]

Here is the email I got from James Routledge at SRD regarding my enquiry. What he has to say is very consistant with the conversation Travis had with the C.O.

Hi Trevor, to properly respond to your inquiry, the answers to your questions are imbedded below each question:


We have been considering deboning our big game animals in the field and I want to ensure that what we want to do is legal.



Comment: We do not consider deboning illegal when done in order to retrieve game from the field.


Hypothetically, we have harvested a big game animal within the law and we have skinned and deboned the animal, reducing it to a carcass free of all edible meat and a container of meat to be cut and wrapped.



Question 1. What do we do with the tag? Does it stay on the carcass in the bush or should we be removing the tag from the carcass and leaving it with the meat. The regulations in Alberta state that the animal must remain tagged until delivered to the usual residence of the hunter or to a premises (i.e., meat plant or butcher shop) in respect of which there is a Food Establishment Permit issued under the Public Health Act or Licence for the Operation of an Abattoir issued under the Meat Inspection Act and the carcass is actually being butchered, cut and packaged for consumption. For all intents and purposes, the animal has been processed in the bush, but has not been delivered to the usual residence of the hunter or a butcher.



A: For trophy sheep or goat, the tag(s) must remain affixed until the animal is registered and the skin is processed. For moose, elk, deer, antelope or non-trophy sheep, the tag must remain affixed (and, see 2. below - the tagged portion must also still be connected to that portion of the carcass that the evidence of sex/species is attached) until the carcass has been delivered to the hunter's usual residence or to one of the noted permit premises or licenced abattoir. For bear or cougar, the tag must remain affixed to the skin until it the skin processed (this means tanned or taxidermized). In the situation described above, the carcass (in the example of a moose, elk, deer, antelope or non-trophy sheep) has not yet been delivered to one of the proper locations and it has not reached a state where the tag can simply be removed.



Question 2. What about evidence of species and sex? For all intents and purposes, the animal has been processed in the bush. Does the evidence need to be retained any further?



A: In the situation described (for the moose etc. group of species), the carcass has not yet been delivered to one of these locations, nor has it reached a state where the tag can simply be removed. The advice is to keep the tag affixed to a portion that is still connected to that part to which the evidence of sex/species is still attached until the game reaches the hunter's residence and the meat is properly packaged for preservation. Said another way, it is permissible to debone the two front quarters and one hind quarter in the field. However the hind quarter that comes with the tag and evidence of sex and species attached, must be retained intact until it reaches the hunter's residence or noted permit premises or abattoir.


Question 3. The meat from a legally harvested animal is processed and packaged at a friend's house 450 KM from my residence. Am I legal to transport this processed and packaged meat without a tag and evidence of sex and species?



A: The situation described is not entirely consistent with the regulations. However, it is allowable for the hunter to do this and the hunter should carry his or her hunting licence when transporting the meat, as the licence will act as a proper transport document.


For more information on this or any other fish and wildlife related question, please contact your local Fish and Wildlife office. For office contact information assistance dial 310-0000 in Alberta.

[Travski]

my understanding of it is we are doing things ok as long as everything has been processed?

trav

[WOOKIE]

my understanding of it is we are doing things ok as long as everything has been processed?

trav

Sounds like it Trav, but I will keep a copy of the email in my pack to show any C.O. thats happens to question the methods.

[Travski]

copy of that and your tag and you should be good to go

[pupper]

If I am up on a back pack hunt I just debone the animal, I cant afford to bring back anything more than the meat. If you just take the back straps, tenderloins, and quarters, you can just leave the nutsack on the last quarter.

here is a picture guide to deboneing: http://home.att.net/~sajackson/guttless1.html