CAROLYN GRANT
The provincial government announced this week that the controversial wolf cull to protect mountain caribou was over for the year.In the South Selkirks, 11 wolves were removed and a further 73 in the South Peace. In one case, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations reports, six wolves were removed as they were actively stalking 14 caribou.
"This is the first year of a five-year project of wolf removal that is being employed in conjunction with ongoing habitat protection efforts," the government press release said.
Shelley Black from the Northern Lights Wolf Centre in Golden scoffs at the notion that there is habitat protection going on, and says the 14-caribou herd in the South Selkirk is as good as gone.
The South Selkirk herd lost four animals this year and now stands at only 14.
"These caribou are done," she said. "It's not worth protecting and putting other species at risk at the same time. Those caribou will not survive because they (the government) are not protecting habitat. Wildsight and other groups have been fighting to protect habitat but there are still tenures for mining and heli-skiing in those areas. You won't save those 14 caribou so quit killing wolves, and killing them inhumanely. It's just sad."
Black says that when the wolf cull first came up, the Wolf Centre was looking at adding to their pack.
"We proposed adding wolves to our pack here and asked for a permit to take pups. They told us it was inhumane to do that. But it's not inhumane to let them grow to a year old and then shoot them from a helicopter?"
Black says she and other environmental groups will not stop trying to halt the wolf cull. She also says people need to be more concerned just what they are voting for at election time, and also pressure those who are actually performing the cull.
"The public need to keep pressure on the companies actually getting paid for this. Who is the helicopter company?
"We have to start voting for our environment, for the green that is in the forest, not the green in our pockets."