INFOGRAPHICS
Often, a picture can be worth a thousand words. We create, and make available, infographics to tell complex stories quickly and effectively.
INFOGRAPHICS
Often, a picture can be worth a thousand words. We create, and make available, infographics to tell complex stories quickly and effectively.
Photos show government-contracted wolf killers displaying carcasses like trophies
ONLINE COMMENT FORM
An individually written letter can have a huge impact on government officials. The more informed, individualized and targeted a letter is, the better.
You can also start with the copy we've provided in this form - just add your own introduction or closing to make it yours.
Identical letters to the government are counted as a single voice, and we need as many voices taken into account as possible! It also makes it more difficult for governments to adopt a standard response.
Some support points for your letter:
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Poison is indiscriminate; unintended victims also suffer and die. Government records indicate strychnine baits laid for wolves in Little Smoky caribou range in Alberta killed more non-target animals than wolves.
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Compound 1080 has similar impacts on non-target wildlife, and poses similar risks to people and pets. It is not canid specific, but highly toxic to all mammals and birds.
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The use of strychnine to kill wolves is in contravention of CCAC guidelines (CCAC 2003), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA 2013), the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (2014), and the American Society of Mammalogists.
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According to the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC 2003), a killing method is humane if it causes rapid (immediate) unconsciousness and subsequent death without pain or distress. Death by strychnine or Compound 1080 ingestion is inhumane, as it causes frequent periods of tetanic seizures, occasional cessation of breathing, hyperthermia, extreme suffering, and death from exhaustion or asphyxiation, which typically is prolonged and can last hours.
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Wolf kill programs are unacceptable as a wildlife management tool for both ethical and ecological reasons. I urge you to remove wolf killing from the toolbox of wildlife management options.
Decision-makers your letter is being sent to:
Federal Government:
Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Health
Peter Brander
Executive Director
Pesticide Management and Regulatory Agency
Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Strychnine is killing threatened species in Alberta
It is a biological fact that bears can wake from winter torpor and explore. Even if Grizzlies emerge after the poison program, they remain at risk in Little Smoky; after one of the government's strychnine killing seasons poison was allegedly cleaned up, local residents found evidence of ongoing poisoning months later.
Photo courtesy of Wendy Chambers
The Grizzly Bear is a threatened species in Alberta. At least one grizzly has been killed in the Little Smoky strychnine program, which overlaps with the bears' natural range.
According to use pesticide use permits, poison is not allowed to be used in areas that overlap with endangered species range. Check out the maps below which show the overlap between Strychnine use in the Little Smoky and the the Grizzly Bear Zone.
It is a biological fact that bears can wake from winter torpor and explore. Even if Grizzlies emerge after the poison program, they remain at risk in Little Smoky; after last season's poison was allegedly cleaned up, local residents found evidence of ongoing poisoning months later, including scratching and scavenging by Grizzlies at a poison bait site where poisoned carcasses of smaller scavengers continued to appear.
