Caribou herds in Alberta and parts of British Columbia are nearing extinction. Environment Canada has unveiled a new plan to rebuild the dwindling herds in Alberta’s tar sands region. The primary suggestion is to cull their predators, the wolves.
Environment Minister Peter Kent’s remarks have been widely quoted: “Culling is an accepted if regrettable scientific practice and means of controlling populations and attempting to balance what civilization has developed. I’ve got to admit, it troubles me that that’s what is necessary to protect this species.”
As part of its attempt to rebuild the caribou population, Environment Canada will also allow more hunting of the deer and moose that share the habitat. But it is the proposed wolf cull that is causing the most controversy. Reporting in The Canadian Press, Heather Scoffield wrote: ”Environment Canada’s research shows that 100 wolves would need to die for every four caribou calves saved.”
This comes on the heels of news that British Columbia is allowing ranchers and First Nations communities in the province’s Cariboo region to kill wolves that might attack livestock. Once again, wolves will pay the price for problems caused by humans.
Read more: animal welfare, caribou, endangered species, environment & wildlife, gray wolf, hunting, land use, moose, predators, wildlife, wolf, wolves
Wolf Photo from US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species via Flickr Creative Commons; Moose photograph by Robin Jarman, used with permission; Caribou photograph by Cathryn Wellner
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157 comments
+ add your owndon't forget about the MAN_HUNTING POACHERS!
Once again man has encroached on the Wolf's habitat, if ranchers livestock are being killed it's because they are on the wolf's territory, man again is the cause of that problem. Leave the wolves alone as far as the Caribou are concerned, nature always balances out, interfere and there will be real problems!
If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
---St. Francis of Assisi
Do others not think it strange that these animals live and killed before humans interfered BUT they are still in exsistance today-----hummmmmmmmmm makes you think
It sounds like the caribou and wolves need more room and if we didn't have to screw up every square foot of this planet we wouldn't have to worry about it
the culling of wolves will no save the caribou,they have to finds others ways to save the caribou,all is greed .all is about money, and the easy way for greedy people is to cull the wolves,is sad, disgusting and cruel.
Remember where your pet dogs decend from.....It's the humans that are ending with the caribou, not the wolves!
The problem is caused by humans. That is the population that needs to be controlled!
I don´t know who choose the persons have important acts to decide ?
But Canadian petitions I signed a lot.
The problem are money hungry people and politicians, who care only about their pockets.
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