That decision affirmed some native treaty rights to unrestricted fishing. The documents show that within days of the Marshall decision last September, government officials were worried native moose hunting could get out of hand. Officials at the Department of Natural Resources won't say how many moose have been killed by native hunters since last fall. But an e-mail from the department last December outlines the story of one hunter from the Tobique reserve. He told wildlife officers he'd killed and sold 24 moose and was planning to kill as many as 30.
Licensed hunters can only shoot one moose per season.
Natural Resources Minister Jeannot Volpe says the numbers are alarming. Documents show the government has set up a 'native regulation committee' and it's apparently meeting this week. The province is considering setting up strict quotas for each band, making native hunters register each moose killed and putting an end to natives selling moose meat. Volpe says something had to be done in order to save the moose population. It probably won't stop the moose hunting for the whole province, but it might affect some region of the province for the number that could be harvested per zone next year.