B.C. Ministry wolf cull
The government maintains that in the the South Selkirks and South Peace regions, grey wolves are preying upon already-threatened caribou herds. Some 8,500 wolves are believed to live in the province of British Columbia and the cull calls for 184 to be killed during 2015.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ say that 37 percent of caribou deaths in the South Peace region of B.C., for example, are due to wolves. The caribou will be gone from these regions if the cull is not successful, the ministry believes.
The cull began in January and the wolves are being killed by a hunter firing from a helicopter. Many organizations and many individuals are opposed to the cull and are voicing concerns to the government. A conservation group called Pacific Wild has collected more than 180,000 signatures on a petition calling for an end to the cull.
“This is an ill-conceived plan to save endangered caribou in B.C.,” the group’s website says. “The wolves are not responsible for the dwindling caribou numbers; habitat loss and human encroachment are. But wolves are taking the blame and paying the price.”
The executive director of Pacific Wild, Ian McAllister, told media the cull “is scientifically indefensible.” He believes it is “a diversionary tactic laid out to ensure the fundamental issue of habitat protection for caribou continues to be ignored.”
McAllister also said “hundreds of wolves are suffering a needless cruel death right now, funded by our tax dollars” and added there is “widespread international condemnation” of the wolf kill. However, there are conservation groups supporting the cull, groups that believe the caribou need protecting from grey wolves.
Support for caribou protection
Dave Reid of West Kootenay EcoSociety, one such group, said “people don’t want the wolves killed but it’s a certain death for the 18 mountain caribou in the South Selkirks without the predator management side of the recovery plan.”
The ministry is adamant the cull is needed and said it may continue for four years. Ministry officials claim they have taken other steps to help the caribou survive, but that without the cull they will not.
“The province has taken a variety of other actions to assist at-risk caribou herds, including setting aside key habitat, managing recreation to reduce human disturbance and undertaking maternal penning projects to increase calf survival in endangered herds,” the ministry told the Nelson Star.
“Those calling for only habitat protection activities need to recognize these efforts are already underway,” the ministry added. “But will not be enough on their own.”
