Outdoor Pursuits

Just Google “Alberta’s wolf cull” and you will see a myriad of titles portraying wolf culls as barbaric, nonsensical, cruel and unethical. Groups like the Raincoast Conservation Foundation use words like “hired hitmen”, “slaughter”, and “torture” to grab attention. Another group with a big “donate” button on their website called EXPOSED Wildlife Conservancy claims it’s a “war on wolves” and that the Alberta government has “murdered” thousands of wolves. And this is only two of many so-called conservation groups (read anti-hunting and anti-trapping) claiming an end to wolves. And with such headlines, surely there must only be a handful of wolves left in the country that must be saved!

But a further look discovers that Alberta still hosts a healthy population of wolves, an estimated 7000 no less. In fact, in many areas our ungulate populations are in dire need of protection from the very animals these groups want to protect. But you’ll never see “save the deer or elk” headlines on their websites. Why? Because there is no money in saving deer or elk, but plenty where wolves or bears are concerned.

When I was vice-president of the Alberta Trappers Association under then President Anne Coles, we confronted government on several occasions to have them use better methods to control wolf populations in carbiou habitat. After much discussion, we came to agreement and trappers were then brought aboard and utilized in the management of wolves in caribou zones. The program is still used to this day and has been very successful—trappers, when called upon, are very good at wildlife management.

I remember having a conversation about Alberta’s wolf cull at a Trappers’ Rendezvous one year with then minister of Alberta Environment Robin Campbell. I remember him saying, “Rob, I can’t afford to lose one caribou.” His biggest concern was having the federal government step in—we all know what happens when the feds get involved—so the wolf cull would continue as long as he was minister.

The biggest claim from the “save-the-animals” crowd is that wolves have been scapegoated and that they aren’t a threat to caribou—killing wolves will have “no” effect on caribou populations” they say.

Well, as is the case with almost everything these groups want to save, they are wrong... again!

A long-term study recently published in the journal Ecological Applications shows that caribou numbers are no longer dwindling; rather, they are instead, growing. According to the study, “...delivery of recovery actions, especially wolf reductions and wolf reductions together with other actions, has increased the abundance of southern mountain caribou by more than 1500 individual caribou. In other words, recovery actions have added approximately 52% additional southern mountain caribou to the landscape today compared to what likely would have occurred without interventions.”
 
And, “... a caribou landscape is restored when rates of predator-caused mortality allow for caribou persistence. This condition arises from fewer encounters between wolves and caribou, due to there being fewer wolves, or from reduced access for wolves into caribou habitat.”

So, it appears as though the wolf culls are, and have been, working as intended all along. Quite dramatically, as 52% would indicate.

Now, will we see the aforementioned groups stand down and let the professionals go about their business, the folks that know what they’re doing? Of course not, there is no money to be made if there is no need to protect wolves.

For the previous Outdoor Pursuits article, click here.