Bighorn sheep hunt on Antelope Island gets OK

MIDWAY (AP) — The Utah State Parks Board has decided that the hunting of bighorn sheep can be used on Antelope Island to prevent the spread of disease.

The sport killing of mature rams would only be allowed after other options, such as transplanting the sheep elsewhere, had been exhausted.

But the board Thursday removed language that calls for hunting as a last resort to give wildlife managers more flexibility to establish hunts. Department of Natural Resources director Mike Styler says when last resort measures are needed, it's already too late and disease is present.

Styler estimated that auctioning hunts for three trophy bighorn rams on the island could generate as much as $150,000 a year, which would be put back into the island's habitat management program.