People the world over mourn the lone wolf

Re: “Takaya, lone wolf of Discovery Island, killed by hunter: conservation service,” March 27.

Since Thursday, when I learned that Takaya the famous lone wolf had been killed, I have been grief-stricken. Thousands like me are in mourning — and we are angry.

Takaya was relocated by conservation officers and he was searching for a home and sheltering in the forest. He posed no threat to people, pets or livestock.

With malice, someone deliberately hunted and killed this much-loved wolf, whose daily life had been chronicled for eight years and followed by admirers the world over.

An act of such cruelty perpetrated against a defenceless animal is so abhorrent that surely it cannot be tolerated in a civilized society.

Perversely, B.C. provincial law permits the killing of wolves by aerial shooting, trapping, poisoning and hunting from September to May. To my knowledge, any wolf, for any reason, may be killed by a licensed hunter or trapper using these practices.

How can British Columbians condone state-sanctioned extermination of a keystone species and apex predator? Under the guise of sustainable wildlife management and conservation, B.C.’s policy is ecologically reckless, irresponsible and ruinous.

The wildlife photographer and conservationist Cheryl Alexander, with whom Takaya formed a relationship, illuminated the infinite possibilities and unimaginable rewards of natural connection.

Through Alexander’s lens, Takaya taught humans about co-existence and the virtues of trust, tolerance, gentleness, honesty and honour. What have humans taught him?

Doug Pazienza Whitley Bay, England