People in Alberta love our iconic wildlife. We have grizzly bears, river otters, fishers, wolves, lynx, wolverines, and all the other critters featured on postcards and recreational tourism ads.
But what many people in Alberta might not know is that the provincial government has decided to change how it cares for these animals. It plans to prioritize shotguns over science.
The provincial government wants to appoint hunters and trappers as the defacto ‘managers’ of our province’s wildlife instead of biologists and wildlife scientists.
First, grizzly bear hunting in the province was re-opened, and “problem bears” can now be “taken care of” by a pool of “qualified hunters.”
Are these “qualified hunters” specialized experts trained to kill bears only as a last resort?
No. According to the government, any adult living in Alberta with a recreational hunting license is eligible for the culling.
Who needs trained conservation officers when hunters can do the same job?
The province then chose to lift the trapping limits of Wolverines, lynx, river otters, and fishers. The province thinks trappers can effectively survey the population of these species by trapping as many as they like. The resulting number of dead animals will inform the province on setting future harvest limits.
Say what?
And now, the province is condoning a province-wide wolf trapping and killing contest, complete with big cash prizes!
And so it goes. Fire up the pickups, grab your guns, and let’s go manage our wildlife!
Hunters and trappers should sometimes have the privilege of a role in managing wildlife, but they should only be allowed to operate within limits set by science.
A Contest or a Bounty?
The Alberta Trapper’s Association and the Alberta Professional Outfitters Society have launched a province-wide trapping and killing contest. The contest started October 1st and is intended to encourage killing as many wolves as possible this winter. There is no limit on the number of wolves that can be killed. Hunters get $250 for every wolf pelt they submit, while the ‘best’ wolf skin wins $5,000.
They call it a “contest,” but it is nothing less than a bounty (“a sum paid for killing or capturing an animal”).
The Rockies.Life could not find evidence that this contest is “government-sanctioned,” but there is no indication that they are against it either.
So, for the cost of ten toonies –– virtually anyone in Alberta can become a licensed trapper. Paying $20 for a provincial trapping license qualifies you to “manage wildlife” even if you have no formal biology or wildlife management training.
Bounties Don’t Work
Study after study shows that bounties are not effective tools in managing predators.
For example, an Alberta wildlife conservation study headed by two problem wildlife specialists concluded that “Predator bounty programs have been found to be ineffective by wildlife professionals, and they use killing methods that cause needless suffering and jeopardize wildlife conservation programs. Our analysis, therefore, indicates that government agencies should not permit the implementation of bounty programs.”
Research shows that bounties are counterproductive because killing wolves creates smaller packs, with more wolves wandering alone. This makes them more likely to attack livestock rather than hunt wild animals in a pack.
Bounties on wolves have long been seen as an ineffective and outdated management technique in most jurisdictions in North America.
That’s why bounties for wolves ended in the rest of Canada over 50 years ago. Despite the bad track record, bounties were reintroduced in Alberta in 2007 to control wolf numbers and reduce the depredation of livestock and wild ungulates.
The latest wolf-killing contest is dubbed the Alberta Ungulate Enhancement Program; the program and contest aim to “enhance ungulate populations in the Province of Alberta.”
In other words, kill wolves to keep populations of deer, moose and elk abundant (for hunters).
Ringing Alarm Bells
The government of Alberta has made no moves to end these bounties or killing contests.
Kim Odland, do-founder of Exposed Wildlife Conservancy (EWC) and a member of the Alberta Trapping Association, wrote in a press release:
“The Alberta Ungulate Enhancement Program is not based on science, wildlife biology or ethics. It’s an excuse for trappers to kill as many wolves as they can this winter under the false premise that killing wolves enhances ungulate populations, presumably so that hunters have more elk, moose and deer to kill. The argument that trapping is a necessary tool for wildlife management like this is not supported by current science, and wildlife killing contests like this are abhorred in modern society.”
Who Should Be In Charge?
Critics suggest the provincial government is simply using trappers and hunters to do the work of professional biologists. Hunters and trappers pay to get licenses, so ‘deputizing’ them to be wildlife managers puts money in the government coffers and saves the provincial government hundreds of thousands of dollars by not paying biologists or conservation officers for their services.
But should Albertans trust “wildlife managers” who have taken a weekend course or according to the EWC, “professional wildlife biologists [who] typically undergo four to ten years of advanced education and study in biology and wildlife management?
Should a special interest group—which makes up less than 5% of our population—be the only ones consulted about wildlife management decisions, or should Albertans have more say about what happens to our iconic wildlife populations?
Isn’t it like having the fox in charge of the henhouse?
