A recent thread on the Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum by Alberta trappers indicates that there has been a large investment of taxpayer dollars ($120,000) going to the Alberta's Trappers Association as bounty money to snare wolves in caribou habitat. Following the thread, it looks like trappers have received one thousand dollars just to put a wolf bait out. There is no mention of government paid bounties in the Alberta Caribou Recovery Plan so the bounties must be "buried" under the section that mentions "other measures". Regardless, we have serious concerns about this government bounty. First, tax payer dollars are going towards the torture and killing of wolves (and likely by-catch animals as snares are indiscriminate) - all without consulting constituents. There has been no mention of government paid bounties by the government on any website, or the news, and our letters to the AB government have gone unanswered. According to the forum, the government wants this bounty to be kept "hush, hush". Do you want your tax dollars going towards wolf culls? Second, we know that the real reason for caribou decline is habitat loss and fragmentation from industry (logging, oil and gas, etc) and that the government of Alberta has made no serious attempts to stop industry exploration and exploitation and in fact continues to hand out permits in sensitive caribou areas, thus wolf culls are a "bandaid" solution that the government uses to attempt to persuade the public that they are doing "something" to save caribou. Third, we know that wolf culls and snaring wolves does not in fact have any affect on caribou numbers due to the habitat loss and fragmentation and other factors that are leading to caribou demise (See HERE). Fourth, The Alberta government has stated in the past that they do not support municipal or private bounties because they are not effective. It seems they have changed their mind and have implemented their own. (NEWS ARTICLE).
For more information on the caribou issues, please read our page HERE.
Below are screen shots of the discussion seen on the Outdoorsmen Forum about this secret government bounty. As taxpayers, we all have the right to know where our tax payer dollars are going. Please write your MLA and demand answers. Wolves are already poisoned and shot from the air and now the government seems to be paying out a silent bounty on these scapegoated animals. Please speak up.
For more information on the caribou issues, please read our page HERE.
Below are screen shots of the discussion seen on the Outdoorsmen Forum about this secret government bounty. As taxpayers, we all have the right to know where our tax payer dollars are going. Please write your MLA and demand answers. Wolves are already poisoned and shot from the air and now the government seems to be paying out a silent bounty on these scapegoated animals. Please speak up.
Here is another Thread that was posted a few months earlier on the forum
