Alberta wolf cull is inhumane

[Catherine]

Alberta has persisted in its wolf cull program. That is bad enough. What makes it so much worse is the use of Strychnine to poison the wolves. It takes days for the animal to die, it is a horrible death and other animal species are being killed by mistake. Some of the other animals are on the endangered list.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/al...-1.4388721

No one should be using strychnine anymore. It is a dangerous and cruel poison that can kill anything that encounters it. There is no control over what happens once the poison is "out there". It is irresponsible and cruel to do this.

It is also pointless to kill the wolves to protect the caribou when human activity is the real cause of the caribou decline.
If they kill every wolf and a whole lot of other animals besides, it still won't save the caribou if human activity destroys their habitat.  It is a badly thought out plan.  A good predator often helps stabilize a population of animals like caribou. 
Look at the example of Yellowstone National Park. The introduction of wolves stabilized the whole ecosystem and the herd animals are thriving. Yes wolves will end up killing a herd animal, but when they do, they kill off the weak and dying. It leaves the herd stronger.

We should take a lesson from nature. Our Strychnine method kills the best and the strongest who eat first.
Nature works to keep things balanced and ensure that the best of a species survive.

[Tobi]

This is bad. Strychnine stays in the environment, it stays in the ground, the carcasses, the bones. It goes through the food chain. Only idiots would still use strychnine.

Wolf cull!
Oh dear there are a few too many Wolves (in a human's estimation)....let's kill some.
There are a heck of a lot of humans swarming about the place and increasing in numbers daily. If they were peaceful people who knew balance and respect, they would be welcome. But they cause trouble wherever they go. The trouble they cause has either fear or money at its core.

There can not be too many Wolves. Hunting is dangerous. Some are killed by the prey animals! Some die from natural causes. Not all pups make it either. Extreme winters kill them. Starvation can kill them. But it is rare for a wild Wolf to exceed five or six years old! That would be like a human dying in their 30s.

The only reason humans want to kill Wolves is because humans are encroaching on territories where Wolves are, and are guarding their monetary interests. Why can't they learn to live in peace with Wolves?

Strychnine still being used! Oh my goodness! I thought the lesson was learned with that terrible poison. Obviously not. Strychnine poisons the earth itself. And yes, it is a most terrible painful death for any victims of it.

[Catherine]

I have seen an animal die of strychnine poisoning. That was more than forty years ago in Alberta. It is a horrible poison and I can't believe they are still using it. The article lists non target animals that were killed. That is such a benign phrase. It is like the term collateral damage that the military uses. It means you killed the wrong ones. The numbers they list are much lower than the reality. Many animals crawled away and died elsewhere and were not found. Since strychnine gets into the food chain animals are still probably dying from each poisoning.

Alberta is huge and it is mostly open space. A lot of it is actual wilderness. There is room for any number of animals, wolves included. The wolf cull is about seeming to protect the caribou. The real reason for caribou decline is human activity. If they don't blame the wolves someone is going to make the connection and ask why the humans don't make changes in their own behavior. 

The wolves don't just hunt caribou. They eat a wide range of prey. Each time they hunt they bring down a weaker animal and leave the herd stronger. They don't get the best breeding animals in their prime. Wolves keep populations healthy. It might seem harsh, but it is nature's way  keeping a population strong and it means that animals that are failing don't linger on and die slowly. There is a certain mercy to it. 

Our interference messes up the whole system. We don't need to cull anything ever. Nature will work out its own balance.

There is no excuse for the strychnine ever.