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Blaming wolves in British Columbia for declining caribou populations, B.C. officials authorized the slaughter of nearly 1,500 wolves beginning in 2015—many of whom have been gunned down by hunters in planes, likely leaving injured animals not killed outright to suffer from grave wounds, slowly and unseen, until finally succumbing to blood loss or infection. Now, officials have extended the killing for five more years, at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars, even though a recent government-sponsored study determined that wolves aren’t the cause of decreasing caribou numbers—but rather that human encroachment on caribou habitat from clear-cutting, oil and gas drilling, and snowmobile usage is to blame—and that killing wolves has had no positive impact on protecting endangered caribou!
Although only 8,500 wolves remain in British Columbia, authorities have authorized the slaughter of an additional 200 to 300 annually for the next five years, which could cause 30% of the wolf population to be wiped out in just a decade. If this measure goes forward, wolf families will continue to be torn apart, orphaned pups will be left to starve, and, despite the carnage, endangered caribou populations will continue to decrease as officials misguidedly blame the wrong culprit for their decline.
Using the form below, please urge British Columbia’s minister of forests, lands, natural resource operations and rural development and Canada’s federal minister of environment and climate change to halt the cull of wolves and to focus on preservation efforts that will actually protect caribou populations.