Illegal harvest of Yukon sheep leads to $100,000 in fines against Alaskan hunters

Officials from the Yukon and Alaska say two thinhorn sheep that were harvested illegally in the Canadian territory have been returned, following the resolution of a cross-border poaching case that resulted in more than $100,000 in combined fines.

A joint statement issued by the Yukon government, U.S. National Park Service and Alaska Wildlife Troopers on Tuesday says the two rams were returned to the territory during a meeting of enforcement officials in May.

It says Yukon and U.S. wildlife officials had worked together on the investigation that led to three American hunters pleading guilty to unlawfully harvesting the sheep in the territory, having reported killing the animals in Alaska.

They entered guilty pleas in Yukon territorial court in December 2024 and the statement says the trio were handed fines of $10,000 each, to be paid to the territory’s Turn in Poachers and Polluters Fund, while two of the hunters were fined another $3,500 each after pleading guilty to wasting meat from the sheep.