Their only crime was existing. These two cougars were killed in British Columbia, Canada, for being seen close to a residential area.This drama follows the implementation in September of a law to contain large carnivores inthe region. This new measure states that a wild carnivore, such as coyotes, wolves or cougars, may be killed if it is found close to a residential zone.
Source : Gladys Miller
Residents of the estate Ocean Falls had called forest guards to report two felines, who then chose to execute the pair.While it has become more frequent to take lethal measures against wild animals who could potentially be dangerous and are too close to an urban setting, it is still difficult to justify such a decision at Ocean Falls. There are only three residents, and the neighboring town only has 30. The area is only accessible by boat.
Source : Gladys Miller
Michael Howie, a member of theAssociation for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, spokeabout urban expansion into natural territories, encroaching drastically on animals' ecosystems. He explained:membre de l'association de protection des animaux à fourrure (Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals) met en cause l'expansion humaine sur des territoires naturels, qui empiète sévèrement sur l'écosystème local.Il explique :
When we change the landscape, we are changing the ecosystem, which means we see wildlife more often, we may be closer to wildlife than we used to be. That doesn't mean we can't co-exist.
Source : Gladys Miller
Unfortunately, said Mike Badry,wildlife conflict manager for Canada's Ministry of the Environment, displacing wild animals from their natural habitat necessarily has negative consequences for their wellbeing and indirectly for the residents' safety, too.
You're not just taking these animals and trucking them a whole long distance and dropping them off into a habitat they're totally unfamiliar with.Long-distance translocation is a really poor management technique to try and resolve wildlife conflict.
Source : Gladys Miller
He admits that the priority is to not have to kill the animals, and to reach this point, sometimes controversial measures have to be taken. "We only have two dead cougars and nothing changing or preventing this from this happening again."
Other animal protection associations, similar to the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, are pressing for alternative solutions to resolve conflicts in nature. In order to support their research and contribute to the end of lethal measures for wild animals, make a donation here.
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