Global science group criticizes Alberta wolf bounties, says they don’t work

EDMONTON – A global science group is speaking out against wolf bounties offered by some Alberta municipalities and hunting groups.

The world’s largest network of conservation scientists is calling the bounties an archaic and ineffective way of controlling wolf populations.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature says at least six municipal districts and two branches of the Alberta Fish and Game Association offer bounties on wolves that are many times the value of the pelts.

Group member Lu Carbyn says bounties don’t work because they don’t target the specific wolf packs that are causing problems.

But Gordon Poirier of the Alberta Fish and Game Association says growing wolf populations need some controls and public outcry has blocked previous attempts to use other means.

The scientists say that as of last spring, 643 bounties have been paid out for dead wolves.