Re: Killers of BCs Moose
"Unlicensed hunters isn't a great description in my opinion."
It's not a great description, but I was happy to see it at least enter the conversation. It leads to the question "What is an unlicensed hunter?" My first response is "A poacher", but my second is "code for FN".
We're not going to get one law for all Canadians as far as I can see. If we can accurately track and then discuss the impact of FN harvest we'll be making progress, so I think throwing the term "unlicensed hunter" out in a scientific report is a great thing to see. The next step, obviously, is to clarify if we're talking about poaching (which requires more enforcement) of FN harvest, which is a completely different challenge/opportunity (and I'm pretty sure we all know we're really talking about unregulated FN harvest, not old time poachers, although I could be wrong).
Why opportunity? Well, if, as someone said, moose weren't in the lower 2/3 of the province until we brought in lots of predator control, and if, as we know, there are FNs with a traditional right to harvest moose that weren't on their traditional territory in 1916, but got there as a result of predator suppression, maybe there's an opportunity there to get the stewards of the land to present an op[posing view to Friends of the Wolf.
Rob Chipman
"The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders" - Ed Abbey
"Grown men do not need leaders" - also Ed Abbey