Care About Your 'Bou Raffle great Christmas gift for outdoor enthusiasts

If you have an outdoor lover on your Christmas list, Hunters for BC has the perfect gift idea.

The hunting and conservation group is currently running the Care About Your ‘Bou Raffle, and tickets are now on sale. It’s an easy Christmas gift, as you do not have to deal with putting anything in the mail in the midst of the postal strike.

More than $49,000 in prizes will be given away through the raffle, including the grand prize of a 10-day guided caribou hunt in the breathtaking wilderness of the Northwest Territories with Nahanni Butte Outfitters. The trip includes helicopter transfers within the hunting area to ensure you reach the most remote and pristine hunting grounds, a challenging and rewarding backpack hunt, caribou tags, trophy fees, a wolf tag, $2,000 in travel cash and a caribou shoulder mount.

The main draw will take place in May, but the reason Care About Your ‘Bou Raffle tickets would make for a great Christmas present is because of the early-bird draw. It will take place on Monday, Dec. 30, and the lucky winner will get a Leupold Gold Ring spotting scope, complete with tripod.

The grand prize winner will also take home a stunning array of loot, including a rifle, scope, binoculars, bipod, caribou shoulder mount and a package full of accessories and swag.

Even if hunting is not your thing, the raffle provides valuable fundraising dollars for Hunters for BC, which is one of the leading conservation groups in the province.

Hunters for BC president Robin Unrau points to massive projects currently underway, including one along Highway 97C that will restore habitat. The area was devastated by Mountain Pine Beetle, resulting in salvage logging and a legacy of roads carving the landscape. The group is also taking a closer look at deer mortality in the Thompson-Okanagan, which is the result of building high fences next to highways.

“That’s really the reason that we’re all here together, is trying to understand the why and how we can help rebuild habitat,” Unrau says. “Urban residents and non-hunters will be the first to point fingers at the hunter, saying, ‘Well, hunting is obviously the decline of wildlife.’ Not true. Human encroachment and natural resource demands are the reason.

“Once you know and understand the mechanics behind wildlife biology, it’s heartbreaking and it’s challenging.”

That is why the Care About Your ‘Bou Raffle is for everyone. Most people know and love at least one hunter, and purchasing tickets will help the struggling B.C. habitat situation, which Unrau says the government seriously underfunds.

“We’re going to be reclaiming habitat, planting trees and removing unnecessary roads, which are way above the province’s maximum for resource road densities,” Unrau says. “Hunters see this stuff. We’re out there. We recognize a big problem that is contributing to wildlife declines everywhere."

Tickets for the Care About Your ‘Bou Raffle can be found here.

This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.