[My letter to the Prince George Citizen]
Re: CULLING WILDLIFE IS NEVER THE ANSWER!
Dear Editor(s),
I strongly oppose the B.C. wolf kill program. Sustained killing of wolves, in the absence of protecting adequate caribou habitat, is unjustifiable. This inhumane activity is contrary to the values of most British Columbians.
The Govt. has permitted forestry, mining & other resource companies to disturb & destroy caribou habitat, & now that some herds are on the brink of extinction, wolves are made the scapegoat (again). It is avoidance of what really should be done, which is to stop destruction of wildlife habitats.
We would be wise to consider that reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park led to a much stronger, healthier & more resilient ecosystem. In BC these ecosystems evolved with wolves as an apex predator, & they will not function properly without them.
What these systems did NOT evolve to cope with is massive habitat disturbance/loss as a consequence of logging, mining & oil/gas activity. Approved old-growth clearcutting, Northern Gateway/TMX pipelines, Site C hydro project & various LNG pipelines do more harm to caribou herds than ANY wolf population. BC's Wolf Mgmt. Plan itself stated that its wolf-killing programs "have not resulted in any measurable benefits for caribou", while Alberta’s wolf cull "failed to achieve any improvement in Boreal Woodland Caribou survival" (Journal of Zoology, Nov. 2014).
Notably, the UN declared 2021-2030 the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration -- to fight the catastrophic impacts of degraded/destroyed ecosystems on biodiversity, climate, food security & water supply. ALL experts in this field -- from biologists + conservationists to observers + scientific researchers -- have provided overwhelming evidence that HUMAN INTERFERENCE IN WILDLIFE HABITATS IS DETRIMENTAL TO THE HEALTH + LONG-TERM SURVIVAL OF WILDERNESS ECOSYSTEMS.
Recognizing the importance of biodiversity & the lasting impacts of species loss, in 2017 the BC NDP Govt. promised to enact a Species At Risk Law by 2020. In 2019, Premier Horgan announced that no such law was pending "in the foreseeable future".
Govts. must recognize the intrinsic value of healthy species & ecosystems, & the critical role they play in supporting healthy human economies. We have a moral obligation to prevent species extinction, first by habitat protection -- based on the knowledge of independent ecologists/ traditional knowledge holders. In accordance with BC's Declaration on the Rights of indigenous People's Act, the Govt. must work with indigenous communities to develop this law. Before it's too late.
