Predator and prey; let them find their way

Lets stop something that needs to be stopped.

Homo sapiens and Puma concolor

British Columbia is currently occupied by about five million of the species Homo sapiens.

Estimates have it that there are about 3500 Puma concolor [ cougar] in BC,about 700 on Vancouver Island alone.

In the "conflict" between large predators and humans, Homo is seriously winning.

Governments are the bad guys.Governments license,authorize, facilitate, organize,the killing of wildlife.This killing is often called "management".

Government kills in two ways. License the hunter; eg. $230 for a cougar, if you are not a BC resident..

The other way is to have a division of "Wildlife Management". Officers handle "encounters" between large predators and humans. The solution? Kill the predator. The score, according to the article in the Vancouver Sun, July 13, 352 Cougars killed in the past four years.

How many Cougars are killed annually in BC, by licensed hunters? About another 250, by best estimate.

I saw some video of one of these hunts. Yelping dogs, profane shouting by hunters, dubbed in heavy metal music. Hunters and guides in vehicles follow logging roads, try to stay close to the dogs, aided by tracking devices. Sooner or later, the Cougar climbs a tree."Treed", they say. When the hunter arrives, the tree is surrounded by the pack of dogs. The Cougar is sure to stay in the tree. The "hunter manoevers for a clear shot through the branches, then  kills the Cougar from a range of about forty feet.

The Cougar once ranged widely over the Americas. Human populations and hunting have exterminated it from Eastern and Southern North America, all of central and eastern Canada. British Columbia, and in particular Vancouver Island, have the greatest concentration of this great predator.

Cougars are dangerous to us Homo sapiens? Well, sort of. What is the score on this?

Seven [7] people killed by Cougars in BC in the past 40 years.

Other humans are far more dangerous to humans than Cougars . There were 500 homicides in Canada last year, alone.  Two thousand more humans were killed in their motor vehicle.

Lightning strike killed 10 humans last year. Dogs attacked and killed 60 people. Even Bee sting killed more in one year than Cougar attack in 40 years.

Humans live in small communities in wilderness areas. Another group is the urban dweller who likes to move to the fringes of suburbia, to have the forest in their backyard. Many benefits come from this close touch with nature. Hear the birdsong. See the small, cuddly, furry mammals come to your yard. Like a Chipmunk. Squirrel. Even Racoon. But what if a Cougar is sighted close by? 

Call the "Wildlife Management"! Bring the dogs, find the scent and the hunt is on. Final result is one less Cougar, shot dead, without further ado." We had no choice," comes the lame story, every time.

This is a government problem. They need to stop chasing the vote. Make decisions that will make a few people unhappy.

1.Cancel trophy hunting licenses.Want to hunt in British Columbia? Good. Bring your camera.

2.Take firearms away from "conservation officers."

3.Educate the city dweller who wants to live in the fringes of wilderness. See a Cougar? A Bear is in your yard? Learn to live with this risk. Your child is more likely to drown, be killed in an accident, poison themselves with some toxic substance. Do your own preventive strategies. Don't be calling some guy with a pack of dogs and a rifle.

Don't like these ideas? Buy a condo and move downtown. At least you won't be killed by a Cougar.

Governments want to get re elected. Bottom line. What laws will get the vote? What laws will lose the vote? These are the questions. Government does not make laws based on what is fair, sensible or look any further into the future than the next election.

License the country dweller to go out and hunt anything, charge him a pittance. Moose and Cariboo counts going down? Blame the Wolf. Organize a "cull"of the wolves. Grab the country vote.

Now something about me. I don't hurt or threaten anyone. People who find it difficult to satisfy their sexual needs in stable, long term relationships, choose me. They have a right to choose, I have a right to provide.

Government makes a law which says my nice customer will be punished for make appointment, come to my home. It cannot be enforced. Doesn't matter; the vote is grabbed. Government makes a law which says "sex for money" cannot be advertised; not enforcable either. Again, doesn't matter. The vote is grabbed.

Hey, you politicians! Surprise me! Make a law or two which stops a bad thing from continuing to happen. We have laws against murder. Assault. Kidnapping. Human trafficking. Rape.

OK, good start. Now, let's show the world what kind of people we Canadians are.

Make laws that stop the killing of our wildlife. Show some initiative for a change. Risk the outrage of some guides and Outfitters. Lose the vote of the country people who think the grocery store is in the forest or the mountains. Make illegal the export of animal skin ie. the fur trade.

Be remembered for stopping a bad thing.

Make laws which threaten the nice gentleman looking for some playtime?

Come on.

I try a letter to a politician

Steve Thomson, Lands and Forests

Honorable Minister,

I read about trophy hunting, in the Globe and mail  [Gary Mason]. You are quoted.

"Grizzly Bear populations in BC are healthy and we are confident in our science-based management of this population"

OK. My father was a scientist. Biology Professor at UBC for 30 years. I was very proud of him.

I am a surgeon. This is a Science of a sort. Science is one of the best things we Homo sapiens do.

In my lifetime, I try to learn as much Science as I can.

So, please don't try to justify the archaic and brutal activity of trophy hunting as some kind of "Science-based management".

One wild animal killed as a trophy is one too many.  Wildlife management is not a numbers game;  Like, how many can we kill this year?

In British Columbia, we are blessed  with  remaining wilderness and wildlife. Unlike most of the Americas, we are not rampaging over the land, destroying habitat and killing any living thing that inconveniences us, or for no reason at all.

You talk about the "hunting industry". There is another "industry", called tourism. There is a subdivision of this called "Eco-tourism."  We have outfitters and guides. Lets do "Eco-tourism"

Let these folks who lead clients to where they can kill, use their wilderness skills and knowledge to show people our land and wildlife. Let them bring cameras, not rifles.

Lets show the world we have an intellect.

If this Liberal government cancels the trophy hunt, I will vote Liberal forever,

Regards,

D Bruce Allardyce,MD

I read that Steve Thomson was a rugby player. so I signed off as below:

UBC Rugby  1956-1962, Kats Rugby, VRU, 1963-1987. Evergreen Rugby, 1970-1988.

This did not work; there was no response.