Proposed Anchorage Moose Hunt For Disabled, Limited-Mobility Hunters Rejected

In March, the Alaska Board of Game approved a proposal that would provide a two-week moose hunt for disabled and limited-mobility hunters at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park. But this week the proposal was rejected by the state’s Department of Law. Here are some details from the Anchorage Daily News:

But the Board of Game “lacks specific statutory authority” to allow a hunt for a specific group of people, in this case people with physical disabilities, the Alaska Department of Law said in a June 23 letter.

“Our conclusion is that the establishment of a hunt limited to persons with physical disabilities is unconstitutional because it violates the equal access clauses of Article VIII of the Alaska Constitution,” the Department of Law opinion said.

Ira Edwards, the Palmer man who proposed the Kincaid hunt, called the Department of Law decision “disappointing and incorrect” in an e-mail Tuesday. He pointed to youth-only hunts as an example of a situation where the state allows hunting for a specific group.