Hunting Wolves to Protect the Endangered Caribou of British Columbia
The caribou population of British Columbia is dwindling and the government has implemented a culling program that will sacrifice wolves in order to save the caribou. The article, “B.C. begins to hunt wolves by helicopter in order to save endangered mountain caribou herds”, was found in The Vancouver Sun on January 16, 2015. This is newsworthy because the project will take place locally and it is important to know what is happening to our ecosystem. Caribou protection is important to the environment, the well-being of the ecosystem and the delicate food web. However, many are opposed to the culling program because it is an inhumane way to improve the caribou population.
From a legal perspective, the government has hired skilled hunters thus making it legal. As well, the government of Alberta has done the same for almost a decade; therefore, there is some justification because this method has been shown to work and is efficient in
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They insist that the government has a short-sighted view on the caribou population because even after the number of wolves is lowered, the caribou will continue to face problems such as habitat loss due to human interference. As well, culling wolves has an immediate impact on caribou population, yet it may not lead to long-term sustainable caribou population. Morally, opponents believe that it is not right to kill one species to protect another and from a scientific point of view, experts say that “habitat loss, not wolves, are driving the caribou's decline” (Keller). The ecosystem that caribou thrive in takes hundreds of years to grow and mature and through logging and other human activities, the habitat is being destroyed. Therefore, the government must focus on protecting northern British Columbia’s delicate ecosystem instead of exterminating
In Farley Mowat’s, “Observing Wolves”, Never Cry Wolf, 1963 story he writes about his trip to the Keewatin Barren Land in the Northwest Territories. He was sent there by the Canadian government to prove or disprove that the wolves were eating the caribou. Before Mowat went on his journey he would have planned what equipment he needed to bring, how to prove or dis-prove to the Canadian government that the wolves are eating the caribou, and how Mowat would have prevented the wolves from attacking him.
As hunters across the state venture out into Alaska's forests and tundra in hopes of filling their freezer with moose meat, hunters in the Lower kuskokwim have bit the bullet and hung up their rifles. They are entering the first year of a self-imposed five-year moose-hunting moratorium they hope will significantly improve their moose hunting in the future.“The main stem of the Lower Kuskokwim is one of the few places left in Alaska that has outstanding moose habitat and extremely low numbers of moose,” said Roger Seavoy, the Bethel area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Caribou also are often the pray of wolves or lynx. 5) The extinction of the caribou could affect the eco system by leaving the wolves/lynx that were feeding on caribou with less food to eat, and the population of vegetation where the caribou once were would increase because caribou mainly feed on vegetation.
We looked first at the relationship between the wolf population and the moose population. From about 1960 to 1970, the wolf population remained fairly consistent at about 20 to 25 wolves. During this time, the moose population grew steadily from 500 to over 1200. The next 10 years saw a doubling of the wolf population to 50. This same 10 years saw a decrease of the moose population from over 1200 to over 800. Then in 1980 began a two year drastic decline in the moose population, which was brought down to 15. For the rest of the decade, the moose population remained quite low at numbers near 20. During the 1980s, the moose population doubled again from around 800 to
Fish and wildlife in Northern Ontario is facing a crisis created by years of mismanagement and hidden agendas of politicians who have little or no clue how to manage this Northern resource. Too often politicians have use this Ministry to win over voters in the large urban centres by making policies that are considered green and trendy.
In the northwest coast of British Columbia, nestled away in the lungs of our globe lives the Kermode Bear (Ursus americanus kermodei). Due to its prevalence in British Columbia’s First Nations oral history, the white-phased black bear is also commonly known as the Spirit Bear (Hedrick & Ritland, 2012). To the Kitasoo and Tsimshian peoples, the bear is a symbol of spiritual powers and is of high cultural significance (Spirit Bear Lodge, 2016). To many researchers and environmentalist, the Kermode bear is a subspecies of the black bear (Ursus americanus) and is the Canadian icon for our coastal temperate rainforest
Perhaps, two unedited historical records would be useful to start this chapter; the following letters were mailed to government in 1974 and 1995. 1974…“Game Department, Edmonton, Alta. Re: Timber Wolves” Dear Sir: I am drawing your attention as outlined below. In the first place, I don’t understand the Government protects timber wolves.
One supporting detail was stated in the video titled, “Isle Royale” it states that “Federal designated land is the place in our country that we are most proud of that humans have not intervened and not having an impact on the land and wilderness.” This means that land that are specifically made to not be intervened with by human need to stay that way. This also means if we mess with the nature there it a tampering making the land not federal preserved. This supports that we should allow nature on Isle Royale to take its course and not intervene with the population of wolves.
Over the past several years, the gray wolf, native to the Wisconsin area, has been listed federally as an endangered species due to the graphic and horrific treatment they had received during the industrialization periods of America, when they were frowned upon and hated because they are predatory creatures and did, on occasion, attack livestock and pets. Because the government was encouraging the hunting, including bounties for the animals, the wolves were hunted to near extinction. However, now Wisconsin faces a new problem. With the reintroduction of the wolves to the state, and their continued endangered status federally, the population has increased well beyond expectations, reaching what could be considered a problematic state. A
For example, the wolves have been growing a lot over the past years there are 400–450 wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. They shouldn’t have wolves in Yellowstone because it will kill the other animals. We don’t want animals getting hurt or even extinct because it would be bad not being able to have enough animals. A couple hunters have been saying that they’ve never
The state legislature has favored the ranching industry above ecology and continues to do so. Public polls “conducted by Boise State indicate that the overwhelming majority of Idahoans (nearly 70 percent) support wolf restoration” (Laverty, par. 4) and the legislature is seeking to remedy this by re-educating the public with “a balanced view of the impact of wolves on big game species, those sectors of the economy dependent upon sport hunting, livestock, domestic animals, and humans” (State, 3). Furthermore, the “cost of wolf reintroduction will be presented as a part of any public education program including direct and indirect costs” (State, 3).
Predation is the biggest reason that the caribou are disappearing. According to the article, ten years ago there were thousands of caribou in the Selkirk Mountains, but today the large decline of caribou is because of the wolves. The threat was so serious that the Canadian government began killing the wolves. The Canadian government has killed entire wolf packs to keep the caribou from going extinct. On top of killing to wolves the government has also started “maternity penning”. Maternity penning is when they take pregnant caribou and move then to a protected area, then when the calves are old enough they release
For many of years animal activists have been trying to put a stop to all animal hunting, abuse, using animals for supplies. The problem with doing this is that it may effect a large amount of people who live off of these animals, in particularly the seal. The Canadian Inuit is a large group of people about 46,000 people as an estimation, that use seals as a multi source. The Canadian Inuit use the seal for a source of cash through fur sales, they used the seal for meat, and once used seal for oil lamps. In 1980 animal rights activists got their way and made it so that seal hunting was no longer legal. This affected thousands of Canadian Inuit who lived in small arctic hamlets who lived off of seal. The question is who is better off the Canadian Inuit, or the animals rights activists?
PROTECTION PROGRAMS FOR RED WOLVES The red wolf is one of the world’s most endangered creatures. The red wolf used to be very abundant in the southeastern part of the United States, now only about 200 red wolves exist in the United States according to the Wolf Conservation Center. In 1973 the red wolves were declared endangered in the wild. Are the protective programs for the red wolves actually benefiting the red wolf population and helping it grow?
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land, A Photographic Journey is an editorial that argues in favor of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and how it must be protected from the dangers of human industrialization and oil exploration that would surely destroy the land. The author of the passage dwelves into great detail about the vast, untouched beauty of the Arctic Refuge and how its majesty is among the greatest things he has witnessed. Banerjee, however, fails to support his argument using substantial facts that might otherwise sway skeptics. For instance, Banerjee states: “I was saddened to think of the tragedy that might occur if this great wilderness was consumed by a web of roads and pipelines, drilling rigs and industrial facilities”. The author here uses an ethos and pathos standpoint, coming from the perspective of personal experience and opinion of how distraught he should feel if the land were