Caribou Herd Must Be Protected: Throassie

Caribou Herd Must Be Protected: Throassie

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 12:03

Some suggestions are being raised on how to conserve the Beverly caribou herd, which occasionally makes its way into northern Saskatchewan.

Albert Throassie of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board says action needs to be taken now before the herd’s numbers are too badly depleted.

Recent data indicates the number of cows being seen at their traditional calving grounds is on the decline.

Throassie says hunters shouldn’t waste any parts of the caribou when harvesting them, and should consider going after bulls only.

He adds that there are many things impacting caribou these days, and that’s why methods like these need to be considered.

“We have to get back to education and traditional way of hunting. Our ancestors left us the caribou. Caribou have been around for years and years and years, and now they’re depleting. There seems to be no top answer. There seems to be, like, different answers all over,” Throassie says.

Throassie expects some decisions to be made by the board at a stakeholders’ meeting in Saskatoon in February.