As many of you may recall, recently one of our contacts sent out an email containing disturbing photos of a wolf with an embedded snare around it's neck - in Alberta near Rocky Mountain House. It was from one of his trail cameras. In response and outrage, many of you asked why the wolf could not be rescued, treated and released again. WM decided to reach out to one of the wildlife rehabilitation centres operating in Alberta and ask. According to our source, wolves cannot be rescued nor are they the only species who are prohibited from rescue, rehabilitation and release in Alberta. Big horn sheep, mountain goats, wolves, coyote, black bears, grizzly bears, and cougars also are banned from rescue rehabilitation and release in Alberta. Our source further states:
Even though the Alberta Wildlife Act and Regulation issues permits authorizing Wildlife rescue rehabilitation and release and does not ban any indigenous wildlife species from rescue rehabilitation and release, the Alberta Environment and Parks, AEP, policy division has decided to ban certain species, like wolves, from rescue. (Travis Ripley Executive Director and Matt Basco Director of Wildlife)
No government agency can manage unknown populations of flora and fauna, (there has been no centrally managed unified province wide wildlife surveys of indigenous flora or fauna since 1978) and the government ends up doing really absurd things as a result. One of the ridiculous things the Provincial government has done, since 2010, was to ban ALL wildlife rehabilitation centres from accepting bears, raccoons, skunks, cougar, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, elk, amphibian and bat species. The Province (on the public record) does not have any data to support their decision. The Province (in law) does not have the Mandate to rescue, rehabilitate and release back into the wild orphaned or injured wildlife. No Government Mandate, means no earmarked government funding, which means no construction of facilities nor training for fish & wildlife officers to undertake wildlife rescue, rehabilitation & release. In Law (ALBERTA WILDLIFE ACT AND REGULATION) the only organizations allowed, under government issued Permit, to accept, rear and release indigenous orphaned or injured wild species ARE the 8 Wildlife rehabilitation centres of Alberta....and of them, at least 3, in alphabetical order ( Cochrane Ecological Institute, Medicine River Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Wildlife rehabilitation society of Edmonton) have the facilities and expertise to look after most of these banned species. AER (when it was AESRD) is on the public record and in the Media, saying they had no record of human wildlife conflict occurrences resulting from wildlife rehabilitation &release. Nor any disease transference.
In pretty well all the States in the USA, State authorities work with the wildlife rehabilitation centres to rescue ,rear and rehabilitate their indigenous wildlife, including the species on Alberta's list of banned species.
Lacking the Mandate, facilities, funding and skills to rescue, rear & release indigenous wildlife species, the default actions of AEP and F&W is ban rescue of certain species and then the solution they have are to kill them. They kill wolf cubs, injured wolves, coyote cubs, coyotes, bear cubs, bears, mountain goat kids, mountain goats, bighorn lambs, bighorn sheep, raccoons and raccoon kits, skunks, elk calves, cougar kittens, etc.
This is wrong. According to the Policy branch (wildlife) of AEP..the government is in a process of consultation with stakeholders.
Write and object to the banning of species from rescue rehabilitation & release! You can make a difference.
Here is a link to the Alberta Wildlife Act, and Wildlife Regulation: http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/1997_143.pdf
Even though the Alberta Wildlife Act and Regulation issues permits authorizing Wildlife rescue rehabilitation and release and does not ban any indigenous wildlife species from rescue rehabilitation and release, the Alberta Environment and Parks, AEP, policy division has decided to ban certain species, like wolves, from rescue. (Travis Ripley Executive Director and Matt Basco Director of Wildlife)
No government agency can manage unknown populations of flora and fauna, (there has been no centrally managed unified province wide wildlife surveys of indigenous flora or fauna since 1978) and the government ends up doing really absurd things as a result. One of the ridiculous things the Provincial government has done, since 2010, was to ban ALL wildlife rehabilitation centres from accepting bears, raccoons, skunks, cougar, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, elk, amphibian and bat species. The Province (on the public record) does not have any data to support their decision. The Province (in law) does not have the Mandate to rescue, rehabilitate and release back into the wild orphaned or injured wildlife. No Government Mandate, means no earmarked government funding, which means no construction of facilities nor training for fish & wildlife officers to undertake wildlife rescue, rehabilitation & release. In Law (ALBERTA WILDLIFE ACT AND REGULATION) the only organizations allowed, under government issued Permit, to accept, rear and release indigenous orphaned or injured wild species ARE the 8 Wildlife rehabilitation centres of Alberta....and of them, at least 3, in alphabetical order ( Cochrane Ecological Institute, Medicine River Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Wildlife rehabilitation society of Edmonton) have the facilities and expertise to look after most of these banned species. AER (when it was AESRD) is on the public record and in the Media, saying they had no record of human wildlife conflict occurrences resulting from wildlife rehabilitation &release. Nor any disease transference.
In pretty well all the States in the USA, State authorities work with the wildlife rehabilitation centres to rescue ,rear and rehabilitate their indigenous wildlife, including the species on Alberta's list of banned species.
Lacking the Mandate, facilities, funding and skills to rescue, rear & release indigenous wildlife species, the default actions of AEP and F&W is ban rescue of certain species and then the solution they have are to kill them. They kill wolf cubs, injured wolves, coyote cubs, coyotes, bear cubs, bears, mountain goat kids, mountain goats, bighorn lambs, bighorn sheep, raccoons and raccoon kits, skunks, elk calves, cougar kittens, etc.
This is wrong. According to the Policy branch (wildlife) of AEP..the government is in a process of consultation with stakeholders.
Write and object to the banning of species from rescue rehabilitation & release! You can make a difference.
Here is a link to the Alberta Wildlife Act, and Wildlife Regulation: http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/1997_143.pdf
