Scientists debate wolf-control strategies
Banff –
Whether wolves should be killed to protect their prey was up for debate over the weekend, at a conference for wolf researchers.
Some argue that there is a need to control the wolf population, to protect the animals they feed on. Others believe that it’s wrong to interfere with the natural selection.
“A small population of wolves impact their prey,” Carolyn Callaghan, of the Central Rockies Wolf Project, said. “That’s what wolves do. That’s their job.” In the Yukon, wolves are blamed for killing off some caribou herds. On Vancouver Island, the animals are seen as a threat to the endangered marmot. About 500 wolf researchers are meeting to discuss what to do about it at a conference in Banff.
“It’s a very contentious debate,” wolf biologist Layne Adams, of the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, said. Adams is among those who see the need to control the population by killing some wolves, to conserve their prey. “I certainly see the biological rationale behind conducting control programs,” he said.
In the early 1980s, the B.C. government started a wolf kill after receiving heavy pressure from hunters and ranchers. The cull was quickly stopped over objections. This spring, a draft plan called for a new wolf kill in an area of northeastern B.C.
“Ethically, I’m opposed to it,” Paul Paquet, a wolf biologist at the University of Calgary, said. “I don’t think we should be killing wolves just to benefit a few humans.”
Callaghan says scientists need to investigate all factors that may lead to animals becoming endangered, including humans.