Originally seen in Fish’n Canada’s Week in Review

Few things draw more controversy than killing wolves, but the province of BC will now be forced to face the criticism in the Supreme Court.

According to the Vancouver Sun, the BC environmental group, Pacific Wild, made their case to the Supreme Court this Wednesday, arguing that the method used to kill wolves violates provincial and federal laws. The method they are referring to in this case is the use of helicopters, a program that has killed over 1,400 wolves since 2015. The group will be arguing that the use of firearms aboard these aircraft is forbidden under aviation laws and that the BC government should stop the use of this culling method immediately.

Though it may sound like something out of an action movie, culling animals from helicopters is not new and is often deemed essential in the mountainous environments that these wolves are now occupying. In an effort to save the rapidly depleting Woodland Caribou herds, the BC government currently uses helicopters to access these areas and pick off wolves as they make their way towards the Caribou’s alpine winter ranges. This method of culling has proved remarkably successful, with the 13 remaining Woodland Caribou herds increasing their numbers by upwards of 81% since the program’s inception.

Despite the success of the program, the BC government will be forced to defend their methods, once again, as they seek a five-year extension of the program in the face of significant public backlash. Public opinions are currently being taken over at the Ministry of Forests’ website and will be open until November 15th.

This excerpt was taken from Fish’n Canada’s Week in Review, our weekly recap of all things relevant to the Canadian outdoorsman. For more stories like this, check out the full article below and tune back in every Friday to catch up on everything you missed!