Hundreds of Wolves Killed in Northwest Territories

SNOWMOBILE HUNT CLAIMS HUNDREDS OF WOLVES

Wolf pelts bring $200 to $350 apiece for hunters in the NWT.
A few have decided to cash in.
The animals are herded into no cover areas with snowmobiles,
run to exhaustion and shot to death.
Over 460 in short period of time.
Biologists in the area feel this practice is a grave threat to the overall wolf population in this area

When will the mass population put a stop to these terrible practices?

Each of you reading this has the power to stop this...you have your voice...
I urge you to take a moment and use it.

Feb. 26, '98 The Globe and Mail
By Alanna Mitchell
CALGARY

-- According to this story, about a dozen native hunters have killed 460 wolves so far this winter in the Northwest Territories in what biologists fear may be one of the biggest and most concentrated commercial wolf hunts in Canadian history. Many of the wolves, the story says citing conservation officers and biologists who oversee the subarctic area, were being chased to death by hunters riding snowmobiles. The hunters track down a pack of wolves, manoeuvre them onto a frozen expanse of tundra, and then, as the animals search vainly for somewhere to hide, chase them until they collapse from exhaustion. Then the hunters shoot them. The story says that the final tally of wolves killed will be significantly higher than 460 by the end of the season. Several hunters who are expected to be making large kills have not yet prepared the skins for export, so have not been included in the count.

The massive hunt is being driven by an unusually strong appetite for fur in the fashion industry and by hefty prices for wolf in the international fur market. As well, the wolves seem to be congregating in the lower Northwest Territories this winter as they follow caribou herds.

The story cites biologists as calling the kill a "local genocide," and say a hunt on that scale has far-reaching, dire implications for Canada's wolf population if it keeps up. Some biologists are especially worried because the Northwest Territories government has no count of the number of wolves in the region and no data on what damage a kill of this magnitude could do to the nation's stock of wolves.

Contact:
The Hon. Don Morin,
Premier Government of the Northwest Territories
P.O. Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2L9
Telephone (403) 669-2311
Fax (403) 873-0385

The Hon. Stephen Kakfwi
Minister of Wildlife
P.O. Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT, X1A2L9
Telephone (403) 669-2366
Fax (403) 873-0169

The Hon. Christine Stewart
Minister of Environment Canada
Centre Blk. Rm. 103-S
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Telephone (819) 997-1441
Fax (819) 953-3457

Be advised, the above authorities will not likely be sympathetic.

This update was received:
March 7, 1998
YELLOWKNIFE (CP)

- In what may be another clash of values between North and South, the government of the Northwest Territories is defending a wolf hunt being criticized as cruel and unsustainable.
"That's probably an unfair characterization," said Bob McLeod, assistant deputy minister of wildlife and economic development.
"In that part of the country you have to understand the geography and you have to understand the people. I don't expect people in Toronto or Europe to understand the people or the geography."
Records show that aboriginal hunters, most based in northern Saskatchewan, have killed at least 460 wolves this year in the Rennie Lake area about 150 kilometres north of the Saskatchewan boundary.
Many of the wolves are being hunted from snowmobiles, with some being chased until exhausted and then shot - a practice illegal in every other province and territory.
Steady demand for wolf fur from the fashion industry has made the hunt worthwhile for hunters. A wolf pelt can bring a hunter between $250 and $350.

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories

The seventh session of the 13th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories will reconvene at 130 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16, 1999.

Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development
The Hon. Stephen Kakfwi MLA, Sahtu

Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development
Minister Responsible for National Constitutional Affairs
"Contact Info".....conveniently not working?.......maybe to much of a hot seat over the wolf slaughters?

There is a government FEEDBACK form

or:
If you would prefer to contact us by mail, phone or fax, you can reach us at:
Government of the Northwest Territories
Department of the Executive
Box 1320
Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada
PH (403) 669-2301
FAX (403) 873-0169
VERY interesting message from the Premier of NWT

"Boundless space and beauty of land and *wildlife,* majestic mountain ranges, glaciers and tundra - all on a scale that is difficult to imagine.

Hon. James Antoine
Email:premier@gov.nt.ca

Finally this URL http//www.gov.nt.ca/
provides links to every aspect dealing with the NWT from This Week's News to Phone Directory, Tourism to Politics etc.

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~~Credits~~

A Thank You goes to Merrie Lindsay at: 1
for the many hours spent surfing the net to find this information for Wolf Alliance.

Thank you Sioux Princess for the wonderful background.
Sioux Princess

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