I’m not sure what their operation achieves. Citizens of a democracy and state of law will, of course, trust an official letter from a public government body and believe what it says. What’s the big surprise here? “If we send a letter with fake info but make it look like it was sent by the provincial wildlife dept, people will believe what it says. Hahaha what a bunch of idiots these citizens”
Especially that the wildlife department has so little incentive to lie when you think about it: what are they selling? I would have trusted that the letter contains true information myself without really questioning it.
It’s concerning this happened at all, but I don’t see the value of this “experiment”.
You're projecting a lot on others. There are a lot of people who given an official notice would read it and (depending on the contents) go "hahaha what a bunch of idiots these bureaucrats" and throw it in the trash.
And this is coming from someone who lives in a US state that is certainly in the top 10 for "blind deference to government".
Maybe it's not an experiment but training. You know you can do it, but your people need to be trained to be able to do it effectively. Of course, actually sending the letters out means the whole training thing has gone off the rails.
Especially that the wildlife department has so little incentive to lie when you think about it: what are they selling? I would have trusted that the letter contains true information myself without really questioning it.
It’s concerning this happened at all, but I don’t see the value of this “experiment”.