big time it would seem.
According to government sources the estimated total population of the heard has dropped to a measly 74,000 and change. This is a dramatic drop from the estimated 385,000 in the year 2001 and a more dramatic drop from the estimated population some 20 odd years ago of over 700,000.
The minister responsible has issued some changes to the hunting regulations, but the larger questions still have to be answered. Those are: how will the aboriginal groups respond and how will the government act if/when the Quebec Innu come over the border [one the Innu do not recognize] to hunt later this winter.
Also there needs to be more staff and patrols both in the area of the Trans Labrador highway and in the air all over Labrador.
One thing the Inuit in Nunatsiavut could do is; introduce closer controls and patrols and have education sessions on wastage, plus possibly lower the amount each hunter is allowed.
Only 30 years ago it was with pride that Labradorians talked about the largest herd in the world, wonder where we stand now.
3 comments:
I saw the caribou herd on the south end of the Avalon when I first went to NF in 1996. I've travelled the Irish Loop many times since and have never seen them again.
That be a different heard than the Labrador herds. Still they herds on the Island have been under threat for some time as well.
Herds do change there migration patterns but I am sure there are other factors in play for not seeing them at all.
lest my math be wrong, that means a decline of over 300 thousand caribou in 9 years, or close to 30 thousand/year. Now if a pair of caribou have one calf per year, then there would be potentially about another 150 thousand (a low estimate), making the total decline more like 450 thousand over 9 years or 50 thousand per year! I would need pretty strong evidence to prove to me that the first count or the last count were incorrect, because I cannot fathom that many animals being killed every year. Regardless of all that, it will not impact local inuit who will go about business as usual and do what they can to provide for their families.
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