Metis In NWT Disagree With Caribou Ban

Metis In NWT Disagree With Caribou Ban

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 14:46

A Metis official from the North West Territories says they are deeply concerned by that government’s decision to ban caribou hunting in their traditional area of Great Slave lake.

Sheryl Grieve of the North Slave Metis Alliance says many of their members are being forced to buy food from grocery stores due to the recent move.

She notes caribou aren’t the only species that have been declared off-limits to the hunters — bison and muskox have also been declared threatened species.

Grieve says, in the past, caribou have moved away from the Great Slave area to feast closer to the Hudson Bay.

She worries that is a possibility the government hasn’t considered.

Grieve also says many Metis hunters are wondering where all the bodies of the caribou are, if they’re truly dying off in great numbers like the government seems to believe.

She and others are calling for the territorial government to provide collaring data for them to examine.