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Thread: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

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  1. #1
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    B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/b-c-go...hunt-1.4115300

    VANCOUVER -- The British Columbia government is expanding the bighorn sheep hunt in part of the Cariboo region at the same time it targets the animals' natural predators to protect two herds in a move one conservation group is calling "astounding."
    For the first time since 1993, open hunting of rams with full curl horns is allowed in the Taseko Lakes area of the Cariboo. In the neighbouring region around Churn Creek southwest of Williams Lake, the province has contracted the cull of wolves and coyotes to protect two sheep herds in decline.

    "Predator-prey dynamics are complex, and the ministry doesn't make predator management decisions lightly," the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said in a statement.

    Bighorn sheep are a blue-listed species in B.C., which means they are not immediately threatened but are a species "of concern" because they are particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.
    The provincial wolf management plan says the government does not support predator control for the purpose of hunting ungulate populations, which would include the sheep.

    No one was made available from the government to speak about the issue.

    The statement from the ministry said the cull was necessary to protect two unique migratory herds, one of which has only eight members and is at risk of extinction. The other herd has 29 animals and the goal is to increase populations to 50 sheep with a minimum of 25 to 30 adult ewes, it said.
    The ministry said it expects "positive results" in three years. Predator removal is not being used in any other part of the province to manage bighorn sheep populations, it said.

    Since 2016, 13 wolves and five coyotes have been "removed" within the Churn Creek area. Freedom of information documents obtained by the Wolf Awareness show the contractor was hired to "capture and collar" predators with a contract that permitted him to shoot, trap, snare, hunt with dogs or kill cougars, coyote and wolves.

    In the neighbouring lands around Taseko Lakes, hunting season opened Sept. 10 and runs through Oct. 20. The hunting area was expanded this year because provincial biologists say the Taseko sheep population recovered to 106 in 2016, after dipping to 53 in 2012.

    The province says even if all the rams with full curl horns were killed, enough older rams would remain in the population for breeding purposes.

    Hunting for bighorn sheep in the Churn Creek wildlife management area has been closed since 2012. However, the two herds could be vulnerable if they wandered into adjacent lands.

    Sadie Parr, executive director of Wolf Awareness, said predators like wolves, coyotes and cougars are not the biggest threat to the sheep and the province's decision to remove them is representative of a broken wildlife management system.

    "To me, this is predators being scapegoated. It's an easy thing to do to make it look like you're helping a species recover when there's no evidence behind this," Parr said.

    "That is astounding to me for a variety of reasons."

    The B.C. Conservation Data Centre identifies primary threats to the species as habitat loss, livestock ranching and harassment by the public. Bighorn sheep are also vulnerable to stress and stress-related disease and predators are not mentioned as threats in the centre's 2015 conservation status report.

    Parr said removing predators from an ecosystem either by killing or relocating them can have trickle-down effects on other species. It could mean changing the sheeps' grazing habits, for example, which would in turn affect the plant life in the area, she said.

    "Predators have an incredible and extremely important role in maintaining functioning ecosystems."
    Parr said it would be more effective to target human caused threats to the species.

    "The reality is you're doing nothing to recover or preserve this species if you're still damaging their habitat and if you're still hunting a dwindling population," she said.

    The provincial government has been criticized in previous years for a wolf cull it launched in an attempt to recover endangered caribou herds.

    While government officials argued in 2015 that the experimental cull was the best shot at protecting caribou from extinction, environmental groups and celebrities including Miley Cyrus and Pamela Anderson denounced the hunt as unethical.

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  3. #2
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    BC government should expand the Cali sheep hunts, for different reasons - one being a good way of maintaining "LEH Draws for Sheep" a source of income from hunters who like the LEH Lottery which creates a whole flow of it's own, causing enthusiasm to apply for Cali-Sheep
    My own idea butt still is an idea
    - 2. in competition with mule deer for habitat as well and need observation and data for year round protection from predators and weather by the Ministry
    --3. Cali - sheep are from California brought into BC
    --4. we need to back our Ministry's decisions, have contact with the Ministry
    --5. Cali-sheep rule
    Jel -- Hahahaha -- BC Ministry knows Bo and knows Cali's -- Expand LEH sheep in BC all across - up n down -
    Last edited by Jelvis; 10-10-2018 at 04:00 PM.

  4. #3
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    Good chance for us to write to our politicians showing support for proactive measures. Sadie Parr is not to be taken lightly, she will continue to seek ways to erode our opportunities. I believe she is closely affiliated with the Nemiah First Nations.....

  5. #4
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    With the number of species in BC that have been on the decline getting media attention BC’s wildlife management is going to be under ? And in ways rightly so

    But unfortunately this is also going to be used as a tool against hunters as well because now they can throw out examples of poor management to ? Harvest

  6. #5
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    What pains me the most when I read things like this, is how does someone like Sadie Parr gain "legitimacy" by being connected to, quoted by, and be granted publicity by such media as Huffington Post, National Observer etc...

    How do law-abiding, prudent, well-intentioned hunters such as us find a way to do the same or more??

    We are the ones who have the best interests of wildlife and their respective environments at heart, and yet our voices are the ones who are least heard these days....

  7. #6
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    Quote Originally Posted by scoutlt1 View Post
    What pains me the most when I read things like this, is how does someone like Sadie Parr gain "legitimacy" by being connected to, quoted by, and be granted publicity by such media as Huffington Post, National Observer etc...

    How do law-abiding, prudent, well-intentioned hunters such as us find a way to do the same or more??

    We are the ones who have the best interests of wildlife and their respective environments at heart, and yet our voices are the ones who are least heard these days....
    If you are passionate about this, be a louder voice, or at least a loud voice. You would be shocked at how uninformed the general public is. Astounding how folk with a bias opinion and agenda get quoted like they are some kind of expert.
    Last edited by Husky7mm; 10-12-2018 at 08:34 AM.

  8. #7
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    Ya we don't want them Cali's snacking on them plants putting them in jeopardy. Sounds like those tree huggin idiots and their documentary on Yellowstone, yay the wolves peeled back the ungulates and look at all the birds and plants come back. Morons...
    The only advantage to a light rifle is it's weight, all other advantages go to the heavier rifle..

  9. #8
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    Too bad there wasn't a organization of hunters and like minded conservationists, dedicated to put and keep sheep on the mountain in BC. One with a vested interest in sheep conservation using unbiased science based approaches to management...... maybe the government should have consulted them first on how to proceed?

  10. #9
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    "Parr said removing predators from an ecosystem either by killing or relocating them can have trickle-down effects on other species. It could mean changing the sheeps' grazing habits, for example, which would in turn affect the plant life in the area, she said"

    WTF!, 29 sheep are going to change the frickin "plant life"!!????????????????????
    Are you kidding me.
    Sad part is, most of the city hippies will buy into it, as they wouldn't even be able to comprehend how many sheep it would take til that happened....unbelievable!

  11. #10
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    Re: B.C. government blasted for expanding bighorn sheep hunt

    Deer nibble grass and sheep twist tung around grass and pull the roots out.
    Jelly Tree -- twist tung round and pull it out by the roots -- habitat of the mule deer being munched on -- we need Ministry leadership on this issue
    ----------------------more LEH for Cali Sheep is positive for Resident Hunters -------

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