‘The NDP are now quietly making decisions that will result in the senseless killing of baby moose and their mothers’ – Nechako Lake MLA John Rustad

BC Liberal MLAs Donna Barnett and John Rustad are again calling on John Horgan and the NDP to shut down plans to open up the hunt for moose calves and their mothers after a leaked memo confirms the government’s intention to proceed in the name of saving endangered caribou.

 

“There is no conclusive evidence that eliminating moose populations will starve out predatory wolves and eliminate their potential impact on endangered caribou herds,” said Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA and Rural Caucus Chair Donna Barnett.

 

“Local conservation officials just partnered with the T'exelc First Nation (Williams Lake Indian Band) to help preserve moose populations and now the NDP has inexplicably come up with a contradictory plan.”

 

The BC Liberals recently obtained a provincial government memo in which a communications official with the Ministry states it is a “worthwhile trade-off to remove a few moose."

 

Moose hunt memo from the Ministry of Forests, Lands,
Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

The memo concluded that ... “These thoughtful management options are meant to halt the long decline of caribou populations and put them on the path to recovery.”

 

However, a document released in August 2019 by the government’s BC Caribou Recovery Program indicates that, “Direct management of predators has the most rapid effect… Wolves are caribou’s principal predator in B.C. and high wolf numbers are associated with declining caribou population.”

 

“We know that direct predator management is far more effective in protecting endangered caribou and moose,” said Nechako Lakes MLA Rustad who, as a former minister, fought to restore B.C.’s moose population.

 

“After nearly a year of holding public consultations, the NDP are now quietly making decisions that will result in the senseless killing of baby moose and their mothers.”