The number of cattle killed by wolves is increasing in the forest fringe of Saskatchewan, and some cattle producer say the government isn’t doing enough to help.
Reports of wolves attacking cattle are coming from Hudson Bay, Nipawin, Meadow Lake and the Goodsoil, Sask., areas. Some producers have reported losing up to 16 animals in the past year. According to Saskatchewan Environment, predation claims are up 30 percent from the three-year average.
“They don’t really think that we have a problem,” said Yves Leblanc, a Hudson Bay rancher.
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“One morning we went up (to the pasture), me, my wife and the (grandchildren) … and there was a fresh kill … there was a big (bite) mark on his hind leg, and his throat was crushed and the inside was eaten right out of him.”
This discovery was only the start of Leblanc’s problems. He estimated he lost 20 calves, worth a total of $12,000, in 2006.
The problem culminated when Leblanc and other afflicted ranchers met with officials from Saskatchewan Environment and the Rural Municipality of Hudson Bay.
The result was a $100 bounty on problem wolves in that area. Hudson Bay ranchers who have had an incident with a wolf in their pastures can kill or trap the animal as long as it is on their property.
Yves thinks the officials have underestimated the animals’ cunning.
“A wolf is not like a coyote … they know when you’re coming and they know what you’re doing.”
Leblanc’s problems were alleviated after a trapper was sent to his property from the predation program, which is a joint initiative between Saskatchewan Environment and Saskatchewan Agriculture and administered through the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board.
“It eased the problem, (but) I was out there the other day to see how things are and there’s wolf tracks all over the place again,” he said. “They’re going to use strychnine to poison the gophers in southern Saskatchewan … why can’t we have it?” he asked.
Saskatchewan recently added 60 RMs to its emergency gopher control program. Affected RMs can use a mixture that contains two percent strychnine to kill gophers.
The government does not think the wolf problem is serious enough for large-scale poisoning.
“The gopher problem is much more widespread than the (wolf) problem,” said Shawn Burke, Saskatchewan Environment’s wildlife manager. “The amount of flak that is raised whenever poison is used to control anything, from the animal rights groups and things … it’s very hard to even get permission to use it.”
Nearly 600 kilometres west of Hudson Bay, between Goodsoil and Pierceland, rancher Barry Getzinger is also having wolf problems. Last summer he lost six calves, two of which he knows were because of wolves. He estimated the losses at nearly $4,000. Others in the area have similar problems.
“Just in the last couple years here the problem’s getting really bad,” he said. “(Wolves are) our biggest problem, for livestock.”
He thinks government regulations that bar wolf hunting are part of the issue. Ranchers are allowed to kill wolves causing problems on their property, but not in the forest. If these regulations were loosened, Getzinger said it could take care of the wolves and create another season for hunters.
“What they should do is, in Manitoba when you buy a deer tag you’re automatically issued a wolf tag, and I think Saskatchewan up here should do the same thing,” said Getzinger.
According to the Manitoba Wildlife and Ecosystem Protection Branch, Manitoba hunters may shoot one wolf a year.
“Whenever, in the past, we have looked at those type of (regulations), they have not been supported by the majority of the stakeholder groups,” said Burke, referring to First Nations, wildlife conservation groups and fur trappers.
Manitoba ranchers who lose cattle to wolves are compensated for the damage under a government program. If a dead farm animal can be verified as killed by predators like wolves, coyotes or cougars, the producer is compensated for 80 percent of the animal’s worth.
After contacting several government departments, no equivalent program could be found in Saskatchewan.
The increasing incidence of wolves attacking cattle, Burke said, is related to a series of harsh winters that have killed off the wolf’s usual prey, the white-tailed deer. Deer numbers are down throughout northern areas of the province.
“There’s going to be a decline in the wolf population over the next year due to the decline in the deer population. We’re just in that adjustment phase at the present time,” said Burke.
Until that time, ranchers with potential wolf losses are advised to contact the sheep board to send a trapper to their farm.
Becoming part of a wolf control zone is another possibility.
The control zone program was started two years ago. Any RM that wishes to become part of the wolf control zone needs to contact the sheep board or Saskatchewan Environment.
An RM that is designated as a wolf control zone can issue nuisance wildlife permits, which extends the trapping season. Trappers in the zone are also allowed to use specialized wolf traps.
“It’s a fairly simple process if the producers take advantage of the programs that are out there for them,” said Burke.
