Predator management....what's gone wrong?

[bearvalley]

I want to throw this out to the hunting community on here and get some thoughts from some of the guys that have been there, done that (IronNoggin, proguide66 and chilcotin hillbilly are a few that come to mind) and hear what they think of BC's current predator issues.
Even the "I don't shoot what I don't eat " guys should feel free to get in on this because the times coming when there might not be much shooting and eating if we carry on down the path we're on.
The Anti hunting lurkers don't need to be shy either.

I'll throw out a few of my observations, for what they're worth.
I've had the chance to watch wolves a fair bit in a couple of different environments, northern BC & the Yukon as well the Central interior part of our province.
I think there's a big difference in wolf behavior and in some areas wolves are a lot worse than in others.

The northern wolves still act like wolves. They are wildlife dependent. They maintain pack structure and are territorial over large areas. The major problem in some of the northern region is that there are too many wolves and wildlife is feeling the pressure. In the past their numbers have been dropped and I'm sure that will happen again.

Now we go south.
Wolves are living in close proximity to a lot more people and livestock has been thrown in front of them as another food source. Hunting and trapping seasons have been liberalized, in some places you can hunt wolves 12 months of the year, trap on private for the same amount of time and there is NBL.
This sounds like the solution to too many wolves.
At one time I agreed....not so much anymore.

What I see is that a firestorm was created in some parts of the Interior (other parts of the province as well but I'm going on my personal localized observations).

Heres how it played out;
-the Interior had some exceptionally mild winters that favored the growth of wildlife populations
-the numbers of wolves grew to match the food base. Most wolves lived on ungulates but there have always been beef eaters here as well.
-the larger wolf population became noticeable, wildlife populations started to decline and livestock predation increased. Everyone that spent time in the outdoors commented on the surplus of wolves.
-As wildlife continued to crash, more wolves became livestock dependent. Ranchers got on the band wagon and demanded a solution to the wolf problem.
I know, I was one of them.
-hunting season went to year around NBL and all season private land wolf trapping came in.

The one key point to remember in managing livestock killing wolves and for that matter
wolves that have put a wildlife species at risk is "whole pack removal".
Anything less than that is a waste of time and does more damage than good. I know this will piss some one off but there are damn few good wolf trappers out there and a bunch more that are contributing to making a mess.
There are some.
Remember, I'm talking traps, not snares as snares can only be used by trappers in the legal trapping season, therefor the use of snares for livestock mitigation work is more limited.

So...as the shooting and trapping commenced a noticeable change in wolves started to show.
Packs were fragmented and restructured into smaller packs, and more of them. The number of livestock specific wolves increased. In some areas these wolves have now evolved into a bunch of non territorial culls. They have been educated by traps & snares, to the point of feeding only once on a fresh kill, never returning to feed a second time. Their dominance level has been lowered to the point that no longer is any conventional lure an attractant to them. All the lure does is turn them into dribbling curs as they slink away.
So much for liberalized trapping and shooting as the solution to managing wolf predation.

I feel that we need to tell government that we need wildlife management and a good start on that would be to bring back predator management in such a form as BC had in the past. A handful of specialists dealing with this mess is what is needed, not a bunch of band aids stuck on a wound. To go farther (and using a four letter word)... 1080 needs to come back as a tool in the toolbox.
When it was used in the past, along with traps, whole pack removal was efficiently accomplished.
What a lot of the uneducated public does not unsterstand is that a lot more wolves have been unnecessarily created and killed than would have been if the combined use of traps, snares and 1080 had stayed in place.

Im interested in what others think....and bear management can be brought into the discussion as well.

[Whonnock Boy]

Interesting observations, and quite likely, very realistic.

You're not going to get much of an argument from anyone here, maybe on the 1080, but not much else. It's the rest of the planet that we are up against. Yes, I said planet. Local conservation sites are filled with people from all over the globe, that are self described wolf experts, and they can put a lot of pressure on local governments. Emotions rule their thought process. Maybe once local beef hits 10 bucks a pound for regular ground due to wolf caused cattle losses, we're not going to gain any traction with them. The masses need to be educated.

As for the bears, black in particular, bag limits should be increased. Grizzly bear hunting is almost a lost cause. Get them while you can.

[Surrey Boy]

I'm all in favour of predator hunting, and don't think it does any harm to lupine social structure. I'd be very open to extermination of specific populations, but wouldn't want tax money devoted to it.

That said, let the ranchers have a wolf war. Improve wildlife and livestock harvest for everyone!

[Gateholio]

Bruce Lambs great book- Bushplanes and Outposts- told of the use of 1080 on frozen lakes. Worked great, as the wolves got the 1080 laced meat and they had almost no "incidental kill"

When the lakes melted, the 1080 was rendered inert in the volume of water.

The problem is politics these days. And that's it.

[dracb]

Actually I think you will find that a program is in place where specially trained trappers are being employed by the rancher's association to respond to attacks on livestock. One of the qualifications for trappers applying for these positions was experience at removing entire packs of wolves. As I understand these trappers operate under special permits allowing them to trap 12 months of the year. I would be surprised if killing snares are denied to them given their effectiveness.

Some of the training these people have to undergo pointed out that not all wolves in the pack may be responsible for attacks on live stock even if they join in the feast. I do not remember any clear cut recommendations on how to effectively separate the killers from the non-killing feasters.

When I took the livestock/predator verification course I was somewhat surprised at the relatively small number of verified attacks on livestock reported by the instructors. I do not remember the exact number, but it was in the low hundreds. This in bold contrast with the thousands as I had previously perceived the problem to be. Granted these are the "verified" attacks and the total number is probably somewhat/substantially greater. Low matter the number the deleterious effect is just as great on the individual rancher whose herd is predated on.

[BgBlkDg]

Mike, (BV), that is a simply outstanding post and my gut tells me that you are correct in your summation of what your extensive, realtime experience has shown you. I support the use of 1080 and any other means of wolf population control and even much greater removal of bears....and, I AM a "bear fan".

However, as Gates, points out, our REAL problem IS demographic and "political" in nature and the "hippy" is our REAL foe. I know the enormous damage to sound wildlife management such scumbags as these creatures have caused in the Kootenays and they ARE winning the war for public support.....i.e., "iconic" animals, etc.

I dunno, we need a whole approach to this based on widespread public support and I doubt this is now possible in BC, given the huge demographic and cultural changes since Canada's Centennial and what is happening now.

[Piperdown]

321 and heeeers Jazzy

[Drillbit]

I agree with the OP's observations.

1080 needs to be used and heli-hunting too.

Opening up seasons and bag limits isn't going to change anything for wolves as they are so hard to hunt.

More black bears need to be shot too. Opening up bag limits on them can work, as they are easily found along FSR's in the sprig.

[kebes]

I read an article a few years ago that suggested the use of 1080 has a very low impact on animals that aren't canine. I'm sure there are those here who would know if that's accurate or not? If so, I'm in favour.

While it's not popular, scrap the mandatory removal of blackbear meat.... I bet we'd see a few more dead bears and a few more fawns and calves.

....just my relatively uneducated opinion.

[steveo]

321 and heeeers Jazzy

I think it is too hunting related for her participation, too many fixed factors to debate.