Possibility of wolf cull a hot topic
Posted on 03. Feb, 2012 by Chris Shepherd in East Kootenay |
Photo source: Dennis from Atlanta, Flickr, Creative Commons.
As the government works to revive a caribou population in the East Kootenay, the question of whether to cull wolves to protect that herd is a hot topic, reports Carolyn Grant for the Cranbrook Daily Townsman.
There are thought to be just 15 caribou left in the East Kootenay and animals from Northern B.C. will be brought in.
Bill Bennett, MLA for Kootenay East, has said a wolf cull would be necessary but the Ktunaxa Nation and Wildsight are reluctant to endorse such a measure. The two groups are not united in their opposition, however.
Wildsight says a cull of specific wolves that are preying on caribou could be necessary. The Ktunaxa don’t want to see any long-term cull in effect.
“[If] the effort requires harmful interventions such as a wolf cull, then perhaps the entire translocation program needs to be reassessed. In our view, wolves preying upon caribou is part of the ecosystem,” [says Ray Warden, director of the Ktunaxa Lands & Resources.]
“If you artificially reduce the wolf population, you also run the risk of other species that wolf prey on becoming too abundant, and then other effects cascade through the ecosystem.”
Source: Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Read more at the Cranbrook Daily Townsman.
The idea of culling wolves already earned the opposition from a Golden-based animal rights group. Read about that at the CBC.
What do you think? Should wolves be culled to protect introduced caribou?
2 Responses to “Possibility of wolf cull a hot topic”
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No. Wolves should not be culled. The caribou extinction problem is a human problem (forestry, mining, recreation). To blame the wolves and cull them is wrong. Simple ecology 101. Let nature takes it course. If the caribou go extinct, we can only blame ourselves for opening up higher elevation areas to predators like the wolf (roads and clearcuts). We have fragmented the landscape so much that to pinpoint the wolves is wrong. Plus as Ray says the effects can (and will) have a ripple effect on other species populations. Review ecology 101 and get a grasp.
Let the Wolves be! we as humans are always trying to muddle with nature for our own needs (greed). This area is not the natural habitat for Caribou as they feed mainly on liken which grows up north. How much money is been spent on preserving the few remaining Caribou, this money could be better spent elsewhere.