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PAULATUK
Geese are flying North to Sachs Harbour from Paulatuk but its the shortage of shotgun shells, and not the migrating geese, that has shortened the goose hunting season in Paulatuk this year, said John Muffa Kudlak, president of the Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee.

Many hunters were unable to take full advantage of goose hunting season this year once the Paulatuk NorthMart ran out of shotgun shells. - NNSL File Photo

"The geese just left Paulatuk on their way to Sachs and one of the problems that we had this spring was that we had a shortage of ... shotgun bullets from the NorthMart here so they were kind of limited with the amount the hunters could shoot," said Kudlak. "A lot of members in the community were waiting for shells and they haven't arrived yet."

Kudlak said the Paulatuk NorthMart had only five cases left as of May and that this is the first time a shortage such as this has happened for the community.

"They were just using whatever they had from last year and this year they only had five cases come May, five cases of shells," he said. "I don't know if that has to be rectified for next season to ensure that everybody has a chance to shoot."

"There was a shortage of shells from our supplier," Connie Tamoto, corporate communications manager for the North West Company which owns and operates the Paulatuk NorthMart, stated in an email to News/North. "Shells are now available and are being shipped and should be in-store soon."

Tamoto said all of The North West Company's ammunition is supplied by Winchester which is manufactured in the United States and shipped via its distribution centre in Peterborough, Ont.

Kudlak said now that the geese have flown North to Sachs Harbour, the shotgun shells won't be in such high demand. The next hunting season is for bull caribou which are hunted by rifle, he said. He also said there is no expected shortage of rifle bullets.

Tamoto stated the limited warehouse stock of shotgun shells may have affected other communities as well if they did not have sufficient stock to carry them through the spring hunting season.

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