Canadian plan to kill wolves may save caribou, upset ecologists

In a move that Sarah Palin might support, Canadian officials have decided to start killing wolves. It is hoped that by lowering the wolf population, caribou numbers may rebound.

Canada’s Minister of Environment Peter Kent supports a plan that would shoot or poison wolves that have been preying on caribou. Caribou habitats have been declining because of oil and gas development, forcing wolves and caribou into close quarters. According to Kent, thousands of wolves might end up being culled, either by aerial hunting or with strychnine. However, the wolf killing plan is raising the hackles of environmentalists who argue that a more reasonable solution would be to make an effort to preserve and expand wildlife habitats. In addition, the LA Times reports that "A four-year study...found in 2011 that the caribou in the area were more threatened by habitat loss because of oil and gas development than they were by wolves." US environmentalists are also up in arms, as the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline would bring oil from Canada into the US. In the eyes of some, that makes the US complicit in the plan to kill wolves. It's worth noting that death by strychnine poisoning can be both painful and prolonged; this cruel death is what upsets many environmental activists.