Oliver Moore
From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Apr. 22, 2010 9:10PM EDT Last updated on Thursday, Apr. 22, 2010 9:13PM EDT
It was a show of strength that revealed the impotence of animal protection laws.
When Quebec Innu swept into Labrador last year to hunt protected caribou – a blunt statement that government could not ignore their demands – conservation officials stood by as dozens of animals were killed.
Thirteen months later, only one person has been charged, leading to accusations that the Newfoundland and
Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Natural Resources Kathy Dunderdale conceded Thursday that the situation is “extremely frustrating.” She said conservation officers were told to gather evidence from a distance because the situation last March was too volatile to intervene.
It didn’t work. Hunters’ faces were shielded by hoodies and goggles, and conservation officers had poor camera gear, she said. The images were given to the RCMP in Quebec, but most of the hunters have not been identified.
“Conservation officers in many ways dedicate their lives to the protection of animals,” Ms. Dunderdale said. “This is very difficult for them to deal with.”
But critics say the lack of repercussions stemming from the Innu hunt, and another like it in the fall, proves the government is all bluster.
“It just shows how weak the government is on this issue,” said Cyril Pelley, past president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Outfitters Association. “If anybody had done that outside of some Innu group, they would’ve been in jail forever. The key would’ve been thrown away and everything they had in terms of equipment would have been confiscated.”
Innu leaders, who could not be reached Thursday, said at the time they targeted the Joir River herd as a statement of their traditional rights. The hunt was also meant to force consultation on the future of this herd, which is protected under both the provincial Endangered Species Act and the federal Species at Risk Act.
The government insists the situation was handled delicately due to the volatility at the scene, not because the hunters were native, but that argument is unconvincing to some.
“People are irate, they’re just so frustrated with the lack of action from government,” Mr. Pelley said. “This is a threatened herd that’s being hunted for pressure tactics. When you see those kinds of tactics, you don’t know if you’re living in
He said the incident seems to suggest that, with disguises and sufficient aggression, poachers can get away scot-free.
Ms. Dunderdale agreed that such situations call into question the legitimacy of the law, and said officials have been reassessing their approach. “We’ve had this activity happen now two years in a row,” she said. “There’s always a possibility it might happen again.”
But she stands by the decision last March for conservation officers to keep their distance.
“Our government is not prepared to put human life on the line to save the caribou, as important as the caribou are,” she said.