Horns from illegally hunted sheep returned to the Yukon from Alaska

It marks the end of an international legal saga that involved both U.S. and Canadian courts. In 2024, three American hunters were fined for illegally harvesting Yukon sheep.

U.S. authorities have returned the remains of two illegally-hunted Yukon sheep to the territory. It marks the end of an international legal saga that involved both U.S. and Canadian courts. In 2024, three American hunters were fined for illegally harvesting Yukon sheep.

The hunt, which started in Alaska in August 2022, ended with the killing of thinhorn, or Dall's, sheep on the Yukon side of the border. Kenneth Eberle, Nathan Eberle and Justin Nagel pleaded guilty in Yukon Territorial Court and were fined $37,000. According to a Yukon government announcement issued this week, the sheep horns have now been returned to the territory.

The exchange happened during a spring meeting between Yukon and Alaska enforcement officials. One of the two sets of horns will be kept by the Yukon government for educational purposes, and the other will be donated to the National Park Service in the U.S. The capes will be sold at auction to fund conservation initiatives.

The hunters were also fined in a court in Alaska last year. They pleaded guilty to the unlawful transportation of wildlife and were fined more than $80,000 in restitution to the Yukon government.