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
GRAY WOLF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
British Columbia
F
SPECIES PROTECTION
Wolves receive no protection beyond the boundaries of National Parks, beyond which they are subject to lethal persecution from hunters, trappers, livestock producers, and government-contracted aerial shooters.
HABITAT PROTECTION
BC lacks sufficiently large, designated areas managed for long term survival of viable populations of wolves, or other large carnivores. Scientists have termed these carnivore conservation areas, however achieving this goal is a component of a larger mission of conserving biological diversity.
PREVENTION OF CONFLICT WITH FARM ANIMALS
Hundreds of wolves are killed annually through BC’s Livestock Protection Program - coordinated by BC’s Cattleman Association in partnership with the BC’s Trapper Association. Far too often this program results in lethal control - despite a lack of proven efficacy that killing reduces future conflicts. An increasing amount of scientific evidence demonstrates that lethal removal has no effect on reducing future predation events and can even contribute to increased levels of conflict, unless wolves are completely eradicated. Non-lethal prevention-based practices have proven to be more effective at reducing future conflicts with livestock vs. killing and should be prioritized.
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
More than 1,700 wolves are killed annually in BC’s wolf management programs , estimates: caribou program: ~500, hunting/trapping: ~1,000, livestock: ~200 ].
Ethics aside, lethal practices continue despite the ineffectiveness of such programs at i) preventing future conflicts with domestic animals, ii) predictably controlling wolf populations, or iii) increasing human tolerance levels.
ANIMAL WELFARE
BC continues to use and condone techniques on wolves that cause severe pain and distress, often for prolonged periods. Hundreds of individual wolves suffer extreme pain and distress prior to death each year. According to the Canadian Council on Animal Care a killing method is humane if it causes rapid (immediate) unconsciousness and subsequent death without pain or distress , . Aerial gunning and strangling snares, both of which are used extensively across BC, fail to meet these criteria.
Wolf Awareness Note:
In British Columbia we CAN do better for wolves and we MUST. Beginning NOW. See detailed report for our RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE.
HOMEWORK
BC still has the opportunity to maintain the evolutionary potential of wolves and preserve their role as a group apex predator through much of the province. The prospect of preserving wild wolves as an essential part of the landscape will be determined by the province’s future goals, actions, and planning.
OVERALL = FAIL
These shortcomings are directly impacting wolves, wildlife communities and healthy ecosystems. In the absence of ethical science-based wildlife management and habitat protection, we can expect wolves in British Columbia to continue to be killed both ruthlessly and needlessly, resulting in an ultimate deterioration of ecological interactions and resilient ecosystems.