For Wolf
Culling

Introduction

Caribou populations are declining across Canada

Threatened throughout their range (Festa-Bianchet et al. 2011), woodland caribou conservation is perhaps the most widespread wildlife conservation issue currently facing Canada, with implications for >1.5 million square kilometres of boreal forest. Across provincial, territorial, and federal jurisdictions in Canada, woodland caribou are listed as threatened or endangered, and recovery plans all list reduction of mortality as a critical action to recover caribou Ref 2,4 ,6

Short-term solution/temporary measure/attacking the proximate (predation)- to a human problem (habitat disturbance caused by industrial activities (Ref 2)

Reduce damage to livestock

Aerial culls "buy time"

For Wolf Culling

Application of Wolf culling is a means of 'buying time" to avoid population extirpation of threatened species such as caribou to allow for long-term strategies for habitat conservation, restoration and management

Delays in introducing wolf culling programs to reduce woodland caribou mortality rates will dramatically increase the risk of caribou population extirpations The short-term efficacy of wolf culling, when combined with long-term habitat conservation, restoration, and management, may be the only path forward for recovering many woodland caribou populations. (ref 4)

Wolves will be able to recover from culling however caribou populations will have no chance of recovery without wolf culling being implemented

Wolf populations are healthy and abundant throughout Canada and managed by provincial or territorial management plans. Previous studies demonstrate that wolf populations can absorb (ref 4)

Wolf culling has successfully prevented the decline by stabilizing populations

Wolf removal translated to a 4.6% increase in mean population growth rate of the Little Smoky population mostly through improvements in calf recruitment. In contrast, the Red Rock Prairie Creek control population exhibited a 4.7% decline. Although the wolf population reduction program appeared to stabilize the Little Smoky population.(Ref 4)

Anti-Wolf culling

Wolves have been wrongly singled out

Past researchers have not demonstrated that wolves caused the decline in boreal caribou populations (ref 5)

In the absence of annual wolf population reductions, the LSM would have likely continued to decline, with potential realized population declines of at least an additional 20% during the 7 years of wolf removals (Ref 4) (include Figure)

Notion of killing predators and destroy an entire wildlife community, to save a species at risk is not coherent with contemporary ecosystem and biodiversity conservation principles (Ref 5)

One may kill all the wolves and
alternate prey of an ecosystem, and farm caribou in an
enclosure in order to save the species (Alberta Government
2016) but without functional and accessible habitat, caribou
are unlikely to persist over the long term. (Ref 5) Wildlife
managers should implement a comprehensive caribou
recovery program aimed at conserving, restoring, expanding
and connecting critical habitats across landscapes. Habitat conservation is the only way and has been recommended by a plethora of wildlife biologists. (Ref 5)

Implementing more than one strategy would be ideal however. Predator reduction by itself may be an effective short-term strategy to reduce the risk of population extirpation of an endangered species facing declines due to apparent competition. In a test done, this recovery strategy, woodland caribou population growth rate increased to approximately stable levels during 6 years of reductions of wolves. (Ref 4)

Wolf culling programs are oversold and mislead to the public and scientific community

The program covers/hides the real cause of the decline of boreal caribou populations (habitat loss ) Ref 5

Wolf culling is a short-term solution to buy time when trying to solve the long-term cause of caribou populations.

Conclusion

Concluding Statement

Restate Main Argument

Wolf culling is a short-term solution that buys time.

Wolf populations are abundant and flexible whereas caribou are endangered

Wolf culling has successfully reversed population decline of several caribou populations

References

1) Haggert, A. (2020, May 1). Controversial choice: To cull or not to cull wolf populations in the Northwest Territories. Canadian Geographic. https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/controversial-choice-to-cull-or-not-to-cull-wolf-populations-in-the-northwest-territories/

2) Festa-Bianchet, M., Ray, J. C., Boutin, S., Côté, S. D., & Gunn, A. (2011). Conservation of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in Canada: an uncertain future. Canadian journal of zoology, 89(5), 419-434.

3) McNay RS;Lamb CT;Giguere L;Williams SH;Martin H;Sutherland GD;Hebblewhite M; (n.d.). Demographic responses of nearly extirpated endangered Mountain Caribou to recovery actions in central British Columbia. Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35319129/

4) Hervieux, D., Hebblewhite, M., Stepnisky, D., Bacon, M., & Boutin, S. (2014). Managing wolves (Canis lupus) to recover threatened woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 92(12), 1029-1037.

5) PROULX, G. (2017). The impact of wolf predation on western Canada boreal woodland caribou populations: a critical review of the evidence. Canadian Wildlife Biology & Management, 6, 89-96.

7) Government of Canada, P. S. and P. C. (2013, April 3). Scientific assessment to inform the identification of critical habitat for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), boreal population in Canada : 2011 update : CW66-296/2011E-PDF. Government of Canada Publications - Canada.ca. https://www.publications.gc.ca/site/eng/401605/publication.html


8) Hayes, R. D., Farnell, R., Ward, R. M., Carey, J., Dehn, M., Kuzyk, G. W., ... & O'Donoghue, M. (2003). Experimental reduction of wolves in the Yukon: ungulate responses and management implications. Wildlife Monographs, 1-35.

9) Viability of mountain caribou in British Columbia, Canada: Effects of habitat change and population density. Off Campus Log In - University of Guelph Library. (n.d.-b). https://www-sciencedirect-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/science/article/pii/S0006320709004078

10) Serrouya, R. (n.d.). Imminent Extinctions of Woodland Caribou from National Parks. Off Campus Log In - University of Guelph Library. https://conbio-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/doi/full/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01454.x