Alberta’s wolf cull is ineffective: study

Hunting bounties on coyotes and wolves in Alberta are ineffective and should be banned, researchers say in a recent study that found the province’s bounty programs aren’t working as planned.

According to a scientific review published last month in Animals, an international scientific journal, shows that bounties paid for coyotes and wolves killed by hunters in Alberta aren’t working to reduce their populations or protect other species.

The study came in the same month that documents were released indicating that neighbouring British Columbia may have launched its own wolf cull in order to avoid further restrictions on logging. The province has been criticized by some, including animal activists and celebrities, for its five-year wolf cull aimed at protecting the endangered mountain caribou.

Bounty programs were reintroduced in Alberta in 2009. They are administered in the province by municipalities or private land owners, the Edmonton Journal reports, and not by the province itself. The Animals study found that bounties for a wolf or coyote killed by hunters in the province range from $15 to $500.

The study authors argue that the killing methods used by bounty programs are often non-selective and inhumane: neck snares, strychnine poisoning and shooting animals in non-vital regions. Non-target species can also be killed inadvertently, the researchers say, which can threaten wildlife conservation programs in the province.

B.C.’s wolf hunt has also been criticized for impacting wolf herds and failing to deal with the issue of the loss of caribou habitat. Some say that killing wolves in the province could lead to imbalances in the populations of other animals, like moose.

Other research has shown that the high numbers of wolves and coyotes in the province are a threat to its livestock. For example, one study released by the Miistakis Institute in Calgary found that 31 per cent of beef producers in Alberta experienced an economic impact because of predators.