From the CBC

B.C.’s Ministry of Forestry, Lands and Natural Resource Operations wants to remove limits how many wolves hunters can kill in the Peace Region and when.

The proposed changes would also remove the time limits on the hunting season.

As it stands, hunters can only kill three wolves each year in the Peace Region between Aug. 15 and June 15.

275 wolves in the Peace were killed by hunters annually from 2000 to 2010, equating to 14 per cent of the local population.

The ministry believes the current population could support double the current amount of hunting.

Changes proposed for grizzly limits as well

The ministry is also proposing to triple the number of grizzly bears that can be killed in part of the Peace Region called MU 7-52, from 50 to 150.

MU 7-52 is a remote area of Northern B.C., bordered approximately by the Kechika River, Turnagain River, Highway 37 and the Yukon border. The nearest community is the First Nations community of Good Hope Lake, with less than 50 people.

According to the ministry, the area has an estimated population of 459 grizzlies, the highest in the Peace. Annually, about eight grizzlies are killed by hunters each year in MU 7-52.

An average of 297 grizzlies are killed provincewide each year.

Professor and activist questions rationale

Under the “rationale” section of the bear hunting proposal, the ministry notes it based its proposal on population estimates.

Science director for Raincoast Conservation Foundation and University of Victoria professor Chris Darimont said that set off alarm bells for him.

He said population estimates are just “best guesses,” and that there are a lot of unknowns about grizzlies, their population rates, how fast they reproduce and what kills them.

“The fear here is with these increased authorizations, hunters will be taking more bears than are produced,” he told Radio West host Rebecca Zandbergen.

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From the Wilderness Committee – Act Now – research the issue

Right now, the BC government is engaging in public consultation on proposals to loosen hunting regulations – and we have until January 31, 2016 to say no to these dangerous changes.

The provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is proposing drastic increases to wolf and grizzly hunting in BC.

They propose extending the open season for wolf hunting in several areas of the Omineca, Thompson-Nicola and Peace regions, to the point of year-round hunting in some cases. They propose completely eliminating the bag limit (the amount each hunter is allowed to kill) for wolves in the Peace region, increasing the bag limit in the Kootenay region, and allowing trapping year-round on private land in Thompson-Nicola.