A dozen people gathered recently to hear wildlife advocate Sadie Parr present facts about wolves that countered misinformation and fear-based narratives.
Parr shared scientific insights on the ecological role of wolves and showed how the B.C. wolf cull has no basis in sound science.
Wolves are highly social, intelligent animals that live in tight-knit family groups.
Typically, only one breeding pair mates for life, producing a single litter of four to six pups per year.
When these families are disrupted through killing, pack structure collapses, leading to more breeding and smaller, inefficient packs that are more likely to target livestock.
Killing wolves doesn鈥檛 solve conflicts鈥攊t makes them worse.
The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park gave scientists a rare chance to observe how wolves benefit ecosystems.
Their presence has restored balance, curbing overpopulated elk herds, allowing vegetation to regrow, and even reshaping riverbanks.
This is vividly captured in the short video, How Wolves Change Rivers.
Wolves don鈥檛 compete with hunters鈥攖hey help keep prey populations strong and ecosystems balanced.
Wolves target weak, sick, and old animals, unlike human hunters who often select the healthiest.
This natural selection strengthens prey populations over time.
Wolves eat every part of their kill鈥攊ncluding skin, fur, and bones鈥攍eaving behind little waste.
What remains feeds countless scavengers, supporting broader biodiversity.
As chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal prion disease, spreads in B.C.鈥檚 deer and elk populations, wolves could be our greatest defence.
Wolves can detect and remove diseased animals before they infect others, while studies show wolves are not harmed by eating infected prey.
Left unchecked, CWD prions may contaminate soil and water, entering the food chain through plants.
Coexistence is not only possible鈥攊t鈥檚 already happening.
A Rancher鈥檚 Guide to Coexistence Among Livestock, People, and Wolves outlines non-lethal strategies successfully used by ranchers across North America, proving that protecting livestock doesn鈥檛 require killing predators.
While some continue to vilify wolves out of fear and misinformation, the science is clear: wolves are essential to healthy forests, rivers, and wildlife populations.
The B.C. wolf cull is not only inhumane鈥攊t鈥檚 ecologically reckless.
For more information, see .
Huguette Allen
