Sometimes a government (in this case, British Columbia, Canada) likes to embarrass its citizens in front of the world by committing this kind of butchery.

Super. Natural. B.C. Not.

Just another reason why I don't miss the place at all (having moved away ca 40 years ago).

Do you know for a fact that the Wildlife Defence League's contention is factual?

Stuff like this coming from an animal rights group makes me skeptical...

It's very difficult to persuade government authorities to confirm or deny the truth of the matter, or to believe anything they say, given that they instituted the wolf cull.

The wolf cull is a travesty in any event. Look what happened when they extirpated the wolves in Yellowstone. When all was said and done, we (Canada) had to replenish wolf stocks there to help restore the balance of nature.

In that regard check out the Isle Royale Wolf/Moose Study to better understand the whys and wherefores of leaving Mother Nature alone.

What's in a name? animal rights group [potayto] ~ wildlife conservation group [potahto].

The only instance of such stuff I've ever heard of that appeared to be well conceived was when the US gov't trapped beavers upstream of ranching territory (in Colorado or Wyoming, I think) and released them downstream where they built dams that more than reversed the upstream water shortage their original dams had created.

Unless I missed the reports of the negative repercussions...win, win!

No, but I do trust the National Observer, which has excellent (some award-winning) journalists who I believe would check their sources carefully.

Wolf culls are definitely a fact in this province and the government is always quick to justify its position regarding them. I will keep an eye out for denials and/or "explanations" from our bobble-headed Premier and her government regarding this barbaric practice.

Here's a link containing a video, which is the best I've seen, demonstrating the role of the wolf as a "keystone species".

…too bad our moronic provincial government hasn't viewed it.

Along similar lines:

British Columbia, often aided and abetted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (aka DFO), has promoted intensive aquaculture practices which can be exceedingly harmful to the environment, to humans and to fish (even more so than intensive agriculture practices involving mammals and birds are). This no more evident than in the sorry history of BC's salmon farms.

Industry business models and practices have contributed materially to substantial degradation of coastal habitat in BC, both land and sea, and have produced considerable if not irreparable harm to the farmed species and to other species inhabiting that environment. The latter concerns are poignantly raised by Alexandra Morton in her memoir on killer whales — Listening to Whales : What the Orcas Have Taught Us (New York: Ballantine Books, 2002. ISBN 0-345-43794-2).

Excellent video; fascinating! Thanks, ryck.

Mother really does know best!

The allegations/denials begin to fly.

And now there is a recording of a prior wildlife guide explaining how the Judas Wolf collars are attached and used. Meanwhile, the provincial government keeps saying "Oh no, not us."