Alberta wolf cull is inhumane

[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.