FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Victoria, B.C. (June 16, 2026) – Pacific Wild today hand-delivered more than 1,800 individualized public comments — over 1,000 of them from British Columbia residents — to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS), opposing the B.C. government’s proposed five-year extension of its predator reduction program (also known as the wolf cull). More than 2,800 wolves have been killed under the program since 2015, at a cost exceeding $13 million in taxpayer dollars.
Simultaneously, Pacific Wild submitted a joint letter signed by more than 80 environmental and conservation organizations, wildlife-based tourism businesses, scientists, and other professionals directly to Premier David Eby, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Randene Neill, and Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar, urging the government to reject the extension. The letter calls on the province to instead redirect resources toward meaningful caribou habitat restoration.
“Over 80 conservation organizations, businesses, scientists and professionals have made their position clear: extending this program without public consultation, without binding habitat targets, and without an exit strategy is not acceptable,” said Kristen Weiss, Wildlife & Forest Campaigner at Pacific Wild. “We are taking these concerns directly to the Premier and Ministers because British Columbians must have a voice in how wildlife is managed on their behalf.”
Government Proposed Extension Without Public Notice or Open Comment Period
The B.C. government quietly initiated a review of its predator reduction program, which authorizes the aerial gunning of wolves across 15 caribou herd ranges, without any public announcement or open comment period. The Ministry engaged only a limited, undisclosed list of stakeholders, giving them until June 15, 2026 to respond to the proposed extension. No comprehensive proposal document was provided to stakeholders during the feedback period, despite the government indicating one would be made available.
In 2021 – the only time the government allowed public input on the wolf cull — 59% of British Columbians opposed it. A poll conducted by Research.co in November 2025 found that while only 19% of British Columbians were aware that thousands of wolves have been killed under the program since 2015, more than 70% believed wolves keep ecosystems healthy and balanced and should be protected, and more than half agreed that “killing wolves is wrong, even if it’s done to save another species.”
Pacific Wild has done what the government has not, and sought public input on the proposed extension. The organization launched a public awareness campaign that gathered feedback from over 1,800 individuals, all opposing the cull, with more than 1,000 of those responses coming from B.C. residents.
Key Concerns with the Proposed Extension
The joint letter and technical feedback document submitted today identify several critical shortcomings in the government’s program:
- The government has not identified a legally binding exit strategy or any measurable habitat recovery targets that would end the program.
- Habitat destruction continues at a rate that outpaces restoration and recovery efforts, despite scientific evidence that habitat loss is the root cause of caribou decline. Between 2017 and 2023, the Province spent four times more on predator killing ($10.2M) than on direct habitat restoration ($2.53M). Clear-cut logging in critical caribou habitat has continued steadily since 2003 and has increased since 2015, when the government started culling wolves.
- British Columbians were not informed that a program review was underway and were not given an opportunity to participate.
- The full stakeholder list for this engagement has not been released, leaving the extent of consultation unknown.
- The province has no legal framework for wildlife welfare and no binding biodiversity law, only a draft framework.
“The science is clear: wolves are not the reason caribou are declining. Habitat loss is. Killing wolves year after year while logging in critical caribou habitat continues is not a conservation program. It is a distraction from the real problem,” said Natasha Wehn, Project Director at Pacific Wild. “More than 1,800 people and 80 organizations and scientists have called on the Province to reject the wolf kill. The question now is whether the government will listen.”
About Pacific Wild
Pacific Wild is a British Columbia-based conservation organization dedicated to the protection of wildlife and wild places.
Media Contact:
Lisa Stevens
📧 lisa@pacificwild.org
📞 250-580-2927
Pacific Wild Spokespeople
Dr. Kristen Weiss | Wildlife & Forest Campaigner, Pacific Wild
Ian McAllister | Co-founder, Conservation Advisor, Pacific Wild
Natasha Wehn | Project Director, Pacific Wild
Media Assets: Available upon request
