Where are we at with Moose Allocation Reduction?
Hon. Minister Jamie Moses,
The Manitoba Lodges & Outfitters Association (MLOA) is writing to you once again regarding the announcement of a 50% cut to foreign resident moose hunting allocations for the 2026-2029 period. As you are aware, a letter was drafted on July 19th advising of the above, received by outfitters starting on August 9th. There were immediate concerns raised by the MLOA including letters submitted August 12th and 14th and numerous letters submitted by individual operators and the public regarding the lack of scientific and economic data or consultation with outfitters. Our president spoke with Premier Kinew’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Mark Rosner, as well as yourself August 20th and 22nd and was delivered the same message – that the arbitrary cut would be retracted. In the month following, our president remained in contact with your department via email and was assured official documentation was to follow. However, since September 22nd we have not received a response from your department.
With non-Canadian moose hunting seasons now closed, there is increasing pressure from new and returning clients to book their 2026 hunts and outfitters are still unclear on the future of their business. Moose hunts are one of the highest valued hunts our province has to offer. In fact, our outfitters, with the assistance of HuntFishMB have done a phenomenal job both managing and marketing the hunt. As a result, it is typically a tourism package that hunter’s book by deposit 1-3 years in advance, allowing them time to make the financial investment. Without clear direction from the province, operators are unable to successfully roll out their business plans and the economic uncertainty of the tourism and hunting industry remains.
We understand there has been a great deal of pressure in our industry, particularly with moose hunting; however, the direction given in the meetings with Mr. Rosner and yourself was very clear – the original announcement would be retracted and any further decisions regarding outfitting would be done in clear consultation with the MLOA. On that note, our offer to engage regarding moose management continues to stand. We kindly request an official response so our moose operators can continue to make business plans and provide a top-quality product to our tourism industry.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Manitoba Lodges & Outfitters Association
Cc:
Dana Rudy, Deputy Minister, Economic Development Investment Trade & Natural Resources Wab Kinew, Honorable Premier
Manitoba Wildlife Federation
