In Quebec, ensuring adequate protection of wolves requires a significant increase in fully protected territories, complete reorganization of trapping activities, and the adoption of policies to promote wolf survival. The State’s continuing inaction has forced us to launch an awareness campaign accompanied by a petition denouncing the aberrations of the current system.
We, the undersigned, wish to draw the attention of the Minister of Quebec for Wildlife and Parks to the following:
Whereas trapping has been allowed on wildlife reserves since 1984;
Whereas the trapping of 19 animal species including wolves is allowed on 1,491,701 km2, or over 98% of Quebec’s territory;
Whereas the number of trappers in Quebec has declined by 62% since 1980, and trappers now account for a mere 0.11% of the population;
Whereas trapping remains the leading cause of wolf mortality;
Whereas from 1989 to 1999, over 4,807 wolves were killed by trappers, for an annual average of 480 wolves;
Whereas from November 1998 to February 1999, 8,056 trappers killed over 236,932 animals, not including protected species that were killed after being caught;
Whereas biologists, wildlife technicians, and wildlife officers employed by the Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec hold “lifelong, exclusive” rights to trapping territories, and these activities bring them a substantial yearly income;
Whereas the government is blindly jeopardizing the wolf’s survival by allowing the species to be harvested without knowing the status of its populations (the government’s estimate of wolf populations is indeed imprecise and unconvincing because it is based on assumptions and extrapolations rather than an exhaustive and objective scientific study);
Therefore we, the undersigned, ask the government of Quebec to prohibit all trapping on wildlife reserves so as to ensure the survival of the wolf and 18 other animal species harvested on those public lands (abolishing trapping on those lands fits the current views and values concerning wildlife held by Quebec’s people and the numerous international visitors to the province).
