Labrador trappers calling for better incentives to cull wolves, as moose population declines

Trappers in Labrador are concerned the local moose population is heading for a decline, sparking fears over the future of traditional foods and prompting some to call for an increase to financial incentives for wolf carcasses.

The provincial government, meanwhile, says more trappers need to participate in their monitoring programs so officials know how the moose and wolf populations are doing – something trappers say they won't do without more compensation.

"Labrador has a problem right now," said Jim Shouse, speaking to CBC News from his home workshop in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

"It's sad. I don't want the moose to go the same way as what happened to our caribou. I mean that was, that was horrific," Shouse said, referring to the near-total eradication of local herds in recent years.

In his decades of trapping, Shouse said he's been seeing a steady decline in the moose population, and says predators like wolves appear to be the culprit.

"There's packs of wolves, you know, all over Labrador. So the moose, they don't get a chance to recover," Shouse said, suggesting a sustainability plan to monitor both wolf and moose populations is needed.

Increasing incentives

For trappers like Shouse, it's mandatory to submit wolf skulls to the province after they've caught and processed one. They're paid $25 per wolf carcass, and an additional $35 from the Newfoundland and Labrador Outfitters Association.

It's not something Shouse actively participates in, as it's pennies compared to the amount of work that goes into harvesting a wolf, he said.

Shouse said other territories have launched incentives and he wants to see the provincial government do the same to encourage people to trap enough wolves to give the moose population a chance to rebound.

Jim Shouse said if the moose population isn't conserved, he and other trappers are worried the population is going to decline until there aren't any left in Labrador. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

In 2018, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut announced the Wolf Harvest Incentive Area, which overlaps with the Bathurst and Bluenose-East caribou herds.

In that area, a wolf carcass will get a trapper $1,200. If the trapper prepares the pelt traditionally, $400 is added on, and if the pelt meets prime fur standards, an additional $350 is given to the trapper. The incentives can total $1,950 for one animal.

A similar pot of money should be set aside for Labrador wolves, Shouse said. It could be provincial and federal money, as well as from local organizations and Indigenous governments, he said.

"You get all of these groups together, putting in a pot of money with a five-year wolf plan to cut down some numbers so the moose will have more of a chance, I think would make a difference, a huge difference," Shouse said.

The provincial government's Department of Fisheries and Forestry said the program is not intended to pay trappers to trap wolves.

The province says the Canid Carcass Collection Program incentive is intended to encourage trappers to document their catch and submit the carcass after it has been skinned so biologists can learn more from the by-products of trapping.

Researchers have called into question whether wolf culls stop caribou population declines. A University of Montana wildlife biologist called the incentive program "a placebo," and said killing wolves would only have a minimal impact on caribou populations.

Moose, wolves hard to track

Eastern Grey Wolves are incredibly difficult to track, so the province relies on hunters and trappers to know how the population is doing, said Wayne Barney, senior wildlife manager with the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

But only a few dozen wolf carcasses are submitted in Labrador each year, making it challenging to know how the population is doing, he said.

"We would expect wolf populations, particularly in the north, to be in decline," Barney said.

It's relatively unknown how the wolf population is doing in Labrador as wolves are difficult to track and survey, Wayne Barney said. (Mike Borlé)

That's because the George River caribou herd went from about 800,000 animals at its peak to several thousand, Barney said. Caribou are the primary prey of wolves, and they'll be less successful hunting with fewer caribou, he said.

"It's a very common cycle that you see throughout the boreal forest," Barney said.

Wolves could be switching to hunting moose in the areas where there are moose, but there aren't many moose in Labrador to begin with, Barney said.

The majority of Labrador is not a typical moose habitat that the animal thrives in, Wayne Barney said. The exception is southern Labrador where moose are producing high numbers of calves. (Elizabeth Walsh/Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables)

The provincial government does have a five-year moose management plan, but moose in Labrador are also difficult to survey and track, as much of Labrador isn't prime habitat for the animal, he said.

The only exception is southern Labrador, where the moose population currently being monitored is performing well, with healthy calves from almost every cow moose.

Even still, the province says hunters and trappers are critical in knowing how populations are doing, and they simply aren't getting enough data to form reliable conclusions about either animal.

"We encourage all hunters and trappers to take an active role," Barney said.

Jim Shouse said it's difficult and expensive to trap wolves as they are smart animals and it requires specific equipment to do it in a humane way. He and other trappers prepare the animals in workspaces before the furs are sent to an auction. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

Harvey Blake remembers when there were signs of moose about every 40 kilometres in the Mulligan and Rigolet area, years ago. Recently though, Blake said they're seeing a steady decline in the moose around Mulligan.

"The moose population right now, far as I'm concerned, is at an all-time low," Blake said. "Back in the '80s and early '90s, and even up to the mid-90s, there were lots of moose in the Mulligan River."

In recent decades, there's been a drastic change in signs of wolves nearby, Blake said.

Wolf furs are cleaned and stretched before being sent off to be auctioned. Jim Shouse said the wolves in Labrador seem to be going more after moose than before with the loss of caribou. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

"There's wolves everywhere. Wherever you go ashore, there's wolf signs," Blake said.

Blake agrees with Shouse's concerns and is calling for more investment in wolf surveys in Labrador, and creating a plan to help moose survive.

"The government should be looking into what's going on with the moose," Blake said. "They're not concerned about it. But there we are. Because we're people gotta eat, have some fresh food somewhere.

"If this continues with the moose, they're not going to be any left," Blake said.

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