For immediate release
The organization, joined by community partners and supporters, will be delivering a petition totaling more than half a million signatures to Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development of British Columbia (FLNRORD) in an effort to stop the aerial wolf cull.
The B.C. wolf cull is a government-sponsored program devised to protect endangered caribou.
“Seven years ago we started a petition to stop the unlawful killing of wolves by the government of B.C.
Today we are excited to be handing more than half a million signatures, nearly 70,000 of which are British Columbian, to the Minister.” says Karen McAllister, Interim Executive Director at Pacific Wild. “This cull has gone on far too long. One species should not be scapegoated for another. We need to see an end now to this short-sighted, dangerous approach by the provincial government.”
A recent study published in the Journal of Biology and Conservation found the program has had no detectable effect on reversing the decline of endangered caribou populations. Instead, true causes of caribou decline have been linked to habitat loss due to industrial activities including old-growth logging and road building in sensitive caribou herd areas.
In addition to public campaigning, Pacific Wild has also challenged the legalities surrounding the cull in the B.C. Supreme Court. After two full days in court earlier this year, the case has made headway. While court time was originally set for only two days, the judge has deemed that at least three more days in court are required, a development which speaks volumes to how the judicial system is finally starting to take wildlife conservation issues seriously.
“Our view is that the authority to cull wolves by aircraft has been inappropriately given to regional managers under current Wildlife Act regulations,” says Rebeka Breder, animal law lawyer. “The majority of wolf killings have occurred via government-contracted civilians shooting from helicopters, which we say also breaks federal aviation laws.”
In the last seven years – 1,429 wolves have been killed and over 2 million dollars of taxpayer money has been spent.
Spokespeople (listed below) will be onsite and available for interviews.
- Rebeka Breder, Animal Law Lawyer
- Karen McAllister, Interim Executive Director, Pacific Wild
- Cheryl Alexander, Takaya’s Legacy Project
- Laurie McConnell, Director of Community, Pacific Wild
The event will have live music performed by Peach & Quiet
For more information and to arrange interviews please contact:
Nick Voutour, Communications Pacific Wild
nick@pacificwild.org
902-809-9030
Additional Information pertaining to the wolf cull and species displacement:
In 1988, the courts intervened in a similar case involving the Wilderness Committee. At that time the court held that the regulations governing the wolf cull were invalid. Despite this ruling, the government did not revise its regulations in any meaningful way. 30 years later, Pacific Wild is challenging those regulations again. History shows us that killing one species to save another simply does not work when the core issue of habitat protection is not adequately addressed.
Numerous requests for access to public documents have been ignored.
The Lieutenant Governor’s Council has given the responsibility of issuing permits to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development’s regional managers.
No playbook on who or how to guide regional managers in their decisions to grant permits to hunt wolves exists.
A recent study estimates that ecosystem collapse in the inland temperate rainforest will occur in nine to 18 years if logging continues at the present pace. The Ministry is now engaging on the prospect of obtaining approval for wolf culls for the following five years.
“Despite this knowledge, old growth logging permits have risen 43 per cent in 2021. In one egregious example, Louisiana Pacific is building an extensive road network into the Sullivan and Kinbasket Rivers region, 100 km north of Golden,” says Laurie McConnell, Community Director at Pacific Wild. “There are now plans to log 10 cutblocks where a caribou herd was recently sighted.”
About Pacific Wild
Pacific Wild protects wildlife and their habitat in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia through impactful communications, wildlife monitoring, and community-led initiatives that shed light on the natural world. One of the organization’s premier campaigns aims to stop the wolf cull and to resist ongoing efforts to escalate the persecution of wolves across the province. Learn more at pacificwild.org.
