Chief calls to end moose hunt in B.C. following wild res, habitat loss

A First Nations chief is calling on the British Columbia government to halt the moose hunt this year, arguing the historic wild

re season has caused enough trauma to the species.

Tl’etinqox Chief Joe Alphonse said the ames that have charred thousands of square kilometres of habitat in the province’s Interior and hunting will only further endanger the moose population.

“Anyone who chooses to point a gun to a moose in the Chilcotin is contributing to the eventual problem of having no moose in the Chilcotin down the road,” he said.

e largest re ever recorded in the province’s history at more than 5,210 square kilometres in size is still burning across the Chilcotin plateau, an area about 60 kilometres northwest of Williams Lake.

e province as a whole has seen a record-breaking 11,700 square kilometres scorched since April 1 and more than 150 res continue to burn.

Alphonse said local crews had discovered two dead moose oating in a lake in an area that had been charred by re.

But the province’s forests ministry said in a statement that there remains “only a handful of reports” of wildlife killed, including one black bear, some wild horses in the Chilcotin and a couple of moose in the Cariboo region.

Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said in an interview that none of the 40 radio collared cow moose in the region were killed due to

res, but determining the extent of the devastation is imperative.

“We’ve already instituted some tools over concerns of moose populations and we’re working closely with the Tsilqot’in national government to estimate and get a better handle and assessment of the impact that occurred because of these res on wildlife,” he said.

The provincial government issued 2,423 limited entry hunt permits for moose this year, which the forest ministry said is a reduction from previous years.

e forests ministry said roughly 60 per cent of moose hunting licences issued in the Cariboo region, which includes the Chilcotin, are set aside for First Nations, with the remaining number allocated to other resident hunters and guide out tters.

“It is important to note that not all licensed hunters are successful, and while harvest rates vary yearto-year, on average, only one-third of (limited entry hunt) authorizations are successful,” the ministry said.

It added that no licensed moose hunting was issued in September in areas most a ected by wild re, and many areas of the Cariboo region west of the Fraser River were already closed o as of 2016.

Many Crown land areas throughout the province also remain restricted to the public as re crews continue their response and mop-up.

“If these restrictions are lifted before the end of the fall hunting season, wildlife biologists will reassess the situation to ensure the appropriate regulations are in place to protect wildlife,” the ministry said.