Joint Letter: Call on the B.C. Government to End the Provincial Wolf Cull

Dear Premier Eby,

We, the undersigned environment and wildlife protection organizations, conservationists, scientists, Indigenous advocates, and wildlife-based businesses, write to strongly oppose the Government of British Columbia’s proposal to extend the province’s lethal predator reduction program—commonly known as the wolf cull—for an additional five years. We oppose any renewal of plans, licences, permits or other authorizations that allow the aerial gunning of wolves to continue. We urge the Province to end this program and adopt an ethical, science-based, habitat-centred strategy for caribou recovery and biodiversity protection.

Since 2015, the Province has conducted aerial gunning of wolves across B.C. under the stated goal of supporting caribou recovery. In the 2025-26 season alone, 300 wolves and six cougars were killed across 15 caribou herd ranges. In total, more than 2,800 wolves have been killed through this program over the past decade at a cost of over $13 million taxpayer dollars, in addition to thousands of individuals hunted and trapped in overlapping regions. Another five years of shooting wolves from helicopters will not restore caribou to self-sustaining populations, especially given the continued fragmentation and destruction of critical caribou habitat.

We urgently call on the government to shift away from a strategy of killing predators toward one grounded in the protection and restoration of critical caribou habitat, in accordance with the best available science, the values of British Columbians, and the rights and knowledge of Indigenous peoples. We provide the following points in support of this position.

1. Habitat loss is the primary scientifically-established driver of caribou decline, yet efforts to protect or restore critical caribou habitat have not kept pace with ongoing habitat destruction. Federal recovery strategies for woodland caribou (2012 and 2014) specify that undisturbed habitats are necessary for self-sustaining populations. Habitat fragmentation from logging, mining, and oil and gas development, as well as wildfires and other climate impacts, remains the main cause of caribou population decline. No amount of wolf killing can compensate for the continued destruction and fragmentation of the old-growth forests and other undisturbed ecosystems that caribou depend on.
2. The Province claims the wolf cull is working, but mounting science tells a different story. Caribou population increases cited by the government have been misattributed to predator control, when in reality most increases reflect the combined effects of maternal penning, supplemental feeding, and other interventions applied together. The wolf cull was sold as a short-term bridge to recovery. A decade later, habitat destruction continues unchecked in areas that are important for caribou recovery, and the wolf-kill program has no exit plan.  
3. Widescale wolf-killing creates potentially serious and inadequately assessed ecological consequences.  Wolf kill programs fail to address the complexity of predator–prey dynamics. Wolves are a keystone species whose presence can help regulate ungulate populations, maintain ecological balance, and limit the spread of disease. Research shows that removing wolves can drive environmental changes by triggering trophic cascades, ultimately reducing ecosystem biodiversity. The government is not considering broader ecosystem health by continuing the wolf cull. 
4. Critical policy safeguards for both caribou and wolves remain absent or unimplemented. Caribou are listed as “threatened” under SARA, are provincially red-listed (threatened to endangered), and are identified as a Priority 2 species under the B.C. Conservation Framework. Yet Limited Entry Hunting of caribou continues, with over 1053 tags tentatively allocated in 2026. There is no “no net loss” policy for critical caribou habitat outside existing protected areas. The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework has not been implemented with legal accountability. Additionally, there are no mandatory reporting requirements for wolves killed outside Regions 1 and 2, and a lack of data regarding the impact of widespread predator reduction on wolf population dynamics. There is a clear need for stronger coordination between ministries and a prioritization of ecosystem health. The current system is failing both wolves and caribou and the government must live up to its ecological commitments. 
5. Habitat restoration offers a co-benefit opportunity for both caribou recovery and climate change mitigation that the Province is failing to seize. The government’s Caribou Recovery Program spent approximately $2.53 million on direct restoration investments between 2017 and 2023, compared with $10.2 million on predator reduction over a similar time period. Investing in habitat restoration would deliver lasting ecological, climatic, and economic returns that predator reduction cannot. 
6. The methods used in the wolf cull are inhumane and raise serious ethical and legal concerns. Wolves are highly intelligent and sentient animals who share strong bonds with family members. Wolves are shot from helicopters using high-capacity, rapid-fire weapons not designed for precision kills, which provokes significant levels of fear, panic, and pain prior to death. Many reputable institutions, organizations, and experts in B.C. have publicly condemned the program as inhumane and ineffective.
7. There are concerns about the adequacy of consultation with Indigenous peoples and the extent to which Indigenous rights and knowledge have been reflected in decision-making. Some First Nations have stated that they have not been meaningfully consulted about predator reduction activities and do not support wolf killing on their territories. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs passed a resolution demanding that the Province end wolf culls and unethical hunting. Although First Nations hold a range of views on predator reduction, the Province must still live up to its commitments under DRIPA by engaging in meaningful consultation and shared decision-making, rather than treating consultation as a box-ticking exercise. 
8. The overwhelming majority of British Columbians oppose the wolf cull and support habitat-based recovery. Public polls, including the government’s own 2021 public engagement survey, consistently show that residents oppose predator culls and aerial gunning of wolves. Public values are aligned with habitat-based recovery and humane wildlife policy.
9. The wolf cull harms B.C.’s reputation and economy as a world-class wildlife destination. Tourism contributed $9.7 billion to the provincial GDP in 2023, more than all other primary resource industries combined, including forestry and mining. Tourism businesses, including those from Europe, have warned that the cull damages B.C.’s global reputation as a wildlife destination. This is not just a matter for the Province to manage behind closed doors; it is an issue that has drawn attention from across the globe. B.C.’s wildlife is part of a shared natural heritage that belongs to no one and matters to us all. Wildlife decisions made in B.C. have broad public and ecological significance. 

We therefore call on the Government of British Columbia to end the wolf cull immediately, and instead commit to a caribou recovery strategy led by habitat protection and restoration, including a “no net loss” policy for critical caribou habitat.

Sincerely,