A barren-ground caribou. Photo courtesy Government of Yukon, Ministry of Environment
For some strange reason, the barren-ground caribou were scarce in northern Saskatchewan this winter but have converged on Tadoule Lake in northern Manitoba in unprecedented numbers.
This has resulted in Saskatchewan Dene heading east for their annual harvest.
Now, Manitoba Dene are calling for a limit, blaming Saskatchewan hunters for what is being called “a slaughter of the animals.”
The chief of the Hatchet Lake Dene Nation in Saskatchewan defends his band’s rights to harvest caribou in Manitoba. Chief Bart Tsannie says it is being done responsibly and for personal use.
“We are not over-hunting, we are just getting what we need,” he says. “We have been living on caribou for many, many years.”
The chief was responding to a report in the Winnipeg Free Press, where Manitoba chiefs are calling for limits saying this year’s treaty hunt has harvested about 5,000 animals since November. Manitoba wildlife officials put the number at closer to 2,000.
The herd is massive this year, and for the first time ever converged on the area about 960 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Normally, the barren ground caribou winters in smaller numbers, scattered across northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Tsannie says this year, the animal has been scarce in Saskatchewan.
“According to the numbers we normally get in a year, we are not getting close to those numbers because of the distance of the caribou,” he says.
Manitoba conservation officials are monitoring the situation. They will fly to Tadoule Lake this week to consult with local band leaders, elders and residents.
The barren ground caribou is not endangered and is considered to be healthy with a total Canadian population of about 1.2 million.