Fort Smith (Aug 18/03) - It's easy for anyone to shoot a caribou, but what to do afterwards to maximize the meat is important, says Ken Hudson, the president of the Fort Smith Metis Council.

That's why the council and the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development have joined forces for an educational video demonstrating an efficient and ethical way to hunt, skin and butcher caribou.

The 41-minute video, entitled The Caribou Hunters, features Hudson and fellow Fort Smith hunter Earl Evans.

They take the viewer through a step-by-step process: from gun safety, to finding caribou, to skinning and butchering the carcass, to loading the meat and skin onto a sleigh.

Hudson says the video explains how to handle the meat from the time the caribou is shot to the time it is put in a freezer.

The footage was shot last winter in the Gordon Lake area northeast of Yellowknife.

Hudson is pleased with the film. "It turned out really well."

Hudson says he and Evans have hunted together since the 1970s and have talked about the need for such a video for 10 years. They have seen horror stories of inexperienced hunters not properly harvesting caribou.

The Metis Council obtained $50,000 from RWED, along with contributions from some Yellowknife outfitters, to make the video, which was produced by Yellowknife Films.

The video is not the result of any specific problem, says Ray Case, the acting director of wildlife and fisheries with RWED, although he notes that, every year, some hunters are harvesting caribou for the first time.

"There's always concern how meat and caribou are handled," Case says.

Case insists the video is not just for Metis hunters. "It's directed at all sorts of hunters in the NWT."

The video is also not to suggest that other traditional hunters, such as the Inuvialuit, put aside their traditional methods, he says.

"It's not the only way of effectively and efficiently handling caribou. This a good example of one."

Case says it is hoped the video will help hunters do a good job the first time. "Rather than learning by making mistakes."

It may also help experienced hunters hone their skills, he says.

The video is being distributed to public libraries, schools and community hunting organizations and band offices in the NWT. Copies are also available free of charge at local RWED offices.

In all, 1,500 copies of the video will be distributed.