Canada to cull 184 wolves in helicopter hunt to save declining caribou herds

A government plan to shoot up to 184 wolves from a helicopter to reduce their population and save caribou herds in western Canada is drawing sharp criticism from conservation groups. British Columbia says the killings are needed to save herds in the South Selkirk Mountains and South Peace regions of the province from possible extinction due to wolf predation. The population of the South Selkirk herd has declined from 46 caribou in 2009 to 16 last year. Ian McAllister of conservation group Pacific Wild says the killings ignore the root cause of the problem facing caribou, which he says is habitat encroachment by human activities.

Instead of protecting habitat and restricting snowmobilers and stopping road construction, oil and gas seismic testing that have caused the decline of caribou, the government allowed the number of industries to continue in prime habitat.

Ian McAllister of conservation group Pacific Wild told CBC

A cull of 120-160 wolves is planned for South Peace and up to 24 wolves will be hunted by helicopter in the South Selkirk Mountains before the snow melts. The government acknowledged that “habitat recovery continues to be an important part of caribou recovery,” but added it “cannot address the critical needs of these herds in the short term”. It also noted that traditional hunting and trapping of wolves has failed to reduce their numbers “and may even split up packs and increase predation rates on caribou”.

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