Persecuted for Dubious Reasons
Inland Gray wolves are actively killed to protect declining caribou populations; coastal wolves are being hunted as innocent bystanders.
In British Columbia and Alberta, gray wolves are openly hunted in an effort to protect declining caribou populations. Boreal and mountain caribou populations have been in steady decline. Studies have shown habitat destruction from logging and oil and gas development has been the major cause. As old-growth forests disappear, caribou lose their natural defense against predation. Roads created from these industrial operations create pathways for wolves allowing them to travel faster, cover more ground, and find caribou more easily. In the short-term, unlimited hunting and wolf culls may temporarily slow the trend but it can’t reverse it. Habitat restoration, not predator control has been shown to be the only long-term solution for caribou recovery.
Coastal wolf and caribou territories do not overlap. Given that coastal wolf diets rely heavily on seafood, and territories not overlapping, coastal wolves don’t pose a threat to caribou populations. Coastal wolves are classified the same as inland gray wolves and don’t receive any special protections from wolf hunting regulations. In most of British Columbia, there are no harvest limits for wolves and they can be hunted year-round. Coastal wolves can also be legally trapped under B.C.’s furbearer regulations. Several First Nations communities along the coast consider coastal wolves culturally significant and have banned wolf hunting on their lands.
Wolf culls may temporarily help caribou population in the short-term, they don’t solve the long-term underlying issue of habitat loss. Coastal wolves get caught up in this issue. Conservation groups and First Nations communities continue to push for greater protection to preserve these unique marine-adapted wolves.
Directional Thoughts:
How do you convey coastal wolves being persecuted over a dynamic that doesn’t apply to them?
TBD
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