SEAN LENNOX
VANCOUVER – 84 wolves have been “removed” from the South Selkrirk mountains and South Peace Region of B.C..
The province says the wolves were culled in hopes of saving dwindling caribou populations.
The controversial wolf cull began on Jan. 15, 2015, the first year of a five-year plan to cull the wolves, which were shot from helicopters.
“Habitat recovery continues to be an important part of caribou recovery, but cannot address the critical needs of these herds in the short term,” said the government in a statement.
The province said this year’s cull is now over, with 11 wolves removed from the South Selkirks region, and 73 from the South Peace.
Some wolves that were originally targeted remain and are being tracked, according to the province. They’re currently not in caribou territory.
A number of mountain caribou herds are on the brink of local extinction in parts of B.C.
Tom Ethier, assistant deputy minister with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources, says if the wolves are not culled, the herd will be wiped out within a few years.
“We are looking at the extirpation of a caribou herd here, not 10 years out, but 3 to 5 years if this trend continues,” said Ethier.
Some environmentalists have protested the cull, saying the real culprit is the government’s failure to protect the caribou’s habitat.
Ian McAllister, conservation director for Pacific Wild, condemned announcement of the cull, saying he was appalled.
“You know, the true issue surrounding endangered caribou is their habitat,” he told CBC News.
“While the government is not moving forward to protect adequate amounts of habitat to save the caribou, they’re instead using wolves as a scapegoat and planning just a horrific level of aerial killing in the coming months. This is truly a war on wolves in British Columbia,” he said.
The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association and several First Nations groups in the Cariboo region have been asking for a provincial bounty program, saying wolves are taking an unsustainable toll on cattle and caribou populations