BC government is sterilizing wolves in northern BC – take action now!

Wildcanada.net Action Alert
Thursday, September 16, 2004

The BC Liberal government’s reckless approach to wildlife management is hitting the Muskwa-Kechika area of northern BC. Absent of a legitimate scientific rationale, the government has been sterilizing wolves in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area of the Northern Rockies. This is part of a hunter-funded experiment to increase ungulates in the Turnagain River valley - a move designed to generate more big-game animals for sport hunters. Controlling wolf populations by killing or sterilizing individuals is neither an effective measure in decreasing numbers over the long term, nor a socially acceptable practice in today's world.

Take action now at www.CanadianWolves.net/Muskwa-Kechika and let the BC government know that you do not support sterilizing wolves in northern BC.

The sterilization program of the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (MWLAP) is based on questionable science and is primarily designed to maximize sport hunter benefit by increasing numbers of ungulates. The Ministry’s rationale for controlling wolves in the Muskwa-Kechika is to achieve arbitrarily determined population targets for ungulates. Ungulates, such as moose and elk, are valued for hunting, and the sterilization of wolves is clearly to provide more and better hunting opportunities, not because ungulate populations are in danger of extirpation.

Controlling wolves by lethal or non-lethal sterilization techniques is technically unsound as a long-term management tool. Lethal control has a dubious record of success as a means of depressing numbers of wolves over time, because removing individual wolves may fragment packs and allow more wolves to breed. When entire packs are eliminated, wolves from outside the control area often immigrate to fill the void.

In the case of the Muskwa-Kechika, MWLAP is counting on the sterilization of wolves to provoke less public opposition because, in theory, no wolves are killed. The reality of sterilization, however, appears to be something else.

The effectiveness of sterilization has not been established. Problems include the difficulty of identifying the dominant breeding pair of wolves in a pack, and, even if they are identified, the changing nature of pack hierarchies means that a breeding pair one year may not be the breeding pair the next. Where sterilization has been used and the management objective of reducing wolf numbers is not achieved, managers have resorted to lethal methods of control. This option is recognized in the Muskwa-Kechika Wildlife Management Plan, which states that if control objectives are not achieved through surgical sterilization or fertility-lowering drugs, “alternative methods” will be considered.

Demand the BC government to stop the sterilization of wolves in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area immediately. Take action now at www.CanadianWolves.net/Muskwa-Kechika.

For more information on the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area and to view the Management Plan visit the BC government site at http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/rmd/lrmp/mk/index.htm.

For more information about protecting wolves in BC and Canada visit www.raincoast.org and www.CanadianWolves.net. What you can do:

1. Take action to stop the sterilization of wolves in northern BC.
2. Download this poster and put it up in your community. (http://www.raincoast.org/wolf/monday_04_19_wolf.pdf)
3. Make a donation to protect wolves in BC and across Canada.

	Take Action and stop the sterilization of wolves in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area Make a contribution to help protect wolves and their habitat. Tell your friends about this issue.

	Phone calls for Jumbo reaches 241 – decision still expected for Friday! This Friday, September 17th we are expecting a final decision by the BC government on the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort for southeastern BC’s backcountry. Since last Thursday, the Premier has received at least 241 phone calls in opposition of the resort. We are aiming for 600 calls for Jumbo – one phone call for every 10 hectares proposed for development. Please make one phone call to Premier Gordon Campbell’s office to remind him that the ONLY acceptable decision on the Jumbo Glacier Resort proposal is: NO! This is a winnable battle – and we need your voice now. Make your call to keep Jumbo wild once and for all! In BC…    Dial toll-free 1-800-663-7867 Outside BC…    Dial 1-604-660-2421 Please let us know you have made a phone call by emailing us at info@jumbowild.com. P.S. There are rumours going around the media that the BC government may postpone a decision on Jumbo until October. At this time, however, there is no confirmed evidence. Either way, we must keep the phone ringing!

	ActionWorks.ca Launches New Website www.canadiansforkerry.net

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