Controversial hunting ban extended to protect ‘ Algonquin ’ wolves
By Don Wilcox
AFTER A HUGE outcry from some conservation groups , Ontario ’ s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has expanded a controversial hunting ban on wolves and coyotes .
The ban now covers swathes of land around the Kawarthas , the Queen Elizabeth Wildlands and Killarney Provincial Park . Forty townships have been added to the “ no-hunting ” list for at least the next two years . An existing wolf and coyote ban continues in and around Algonquin Park .
The extended ban was announced Sept . 15 , the day wolf and coyote hunting was supposed to open in many of those areas . It led to an angry response from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters , which accused the ministry of bowing to emotion instead of “ evidence-based decision making .”
“ The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry ’ s original proposal last month only provided a single option accompanied by an almost complete absence of sufficient evidence to support it ,” said OFAH manager of fish and wildlife services Matt DeMille in a release . “ There is virtually no public transparency , and an apparent lack of meaningful public consultation .”
Some conservation and animal rights groups claim the hunting ban doesn ’ t go far enough – they want it expanded further .
When the Ontario ministry proposed easing some wolf and coyote hunting restrictions earlier this year , thousands of comments flooded a page set up for public comment . Conservation and anti-hunting groups activated petitions , broadcasting to worldwide audiences for support .
Interestingly , one online petition organized by CARE2 contained over 16,000 names as of
Sept . 19 . A survey of 300 of the most recent respondents found only six names listed as being from Ontario – hard to find buried among locales as diverse as Macedonia , Sri Lanka , Afghanistan , Mauritius , Turkey , etc .
But the pressure seems to have worked . “ Algonquin ” wolves ( recently renamed after being considered Eastern Wolves for decades ) are now listed as threatened on Ontario ’ s Environmental Registry . Brent Patterson , a Natural Resources research scientist , said the hunting and trapping ban gives researchers time to determine what is happening to the wolf packs .
“ I think it ’ s safe to say there are fewer than 500 mature [ Algonquin Wolves ],” he said . He estimates about half are in and around Algonquin Park , the others spread across the rest of their range .
The problem , critics say , is the lack of up-todate research to indicate whether the wolf population is actually in decline . No census has been conducted since 2007 in Algonquin , and the packs have not been monitored since 2010 , but that is about to change .
Data published in the exhaustive 2005 Backgrounder on Wolf Conservation in Ontario , estimated that both Eastern and Gray wolf populations were stable or increasing at that time .
Over the next two years , researchers will create a “ recovery strategy ” for the wolves , which is required under endangered species legislation . Patterson said there will be a “ parkwide ” census this winter .
But are they really “ wolves ” at all ? The newly named Algonquins are hybridized after generations of cross-species breeding with
PHOTOS : JUSTIN HOFFMAN
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