Sea of Slaughter (19 page)

Until about 10,000 years ago the wolf was second only to man as the most widespread and successful mammal in the entire northern hemisphere. In one or another of its many colour phases and subspecies
Canis lupus
—the grey wolf—was found from Japan through Asia, India, Europe, North Africa, and all of North America. Nowhere was it abundant in the sense of massive populations, for it lived much as did early man, in scattered familial groups or clans, each with its own hunting range, dispersed as far afield as the High Arctic islands, the swamps and jungles of the subtropics, the hardwood forests of the temperate zone, the searing plains of the Gobi Desert, and the towering ranges of the Alps, Himalayas, and Rockies.

There is extensive evidence that, far from being at enmity, wolves and hunting man not only tolerated one another but enjoyed something approaching symbiosis, whereby the life of each benefited the existence of the other. Wolf kills must often have served to feed struggling or starving human beings, and it is a well-established fact that overkills produced by the gradually evolving technology of human hunters were put to good use by wolves. As recently as the 1940s the caribou-culture Inuit of Canada's central Arctic actively encouraged wolves to live and den on the People's hunting grounds, believing that the big, wild dogs had the ability to “call” the migrating caribou. The wolves seem to have been happy to respond, since they benefited from surplus human kills.

After man began divesting himself of his hunting heritage to become a farmer or a herder dependent on domestic animals, he renounced his ancient empathy with the wolf and, in due course of time, came to perceive his one-time fellow hunter as an inveterate enemy. Civilized man eventually succeeded in totally extirpating the
real
wolf from his mind, substituting for it a contrived image, replete with evil aspects that generated almost pathological fear and hatred.

When European man began his conquest of the New World, wolves were omnipresent but were not at first considered of much consequence, probably because the early Europeans were not agriculturalists. Nor were they markedly “civilized.” Anthony Parkhurst, from about 1574, mentions wolves almost incidentally. “I had almost forgotten to speak of the plenty of wolves.” James Yonge, visiting Newfoundland in 1663, wrote equally casually of “the bears and wolves... with which this country abounds.” As late as 1721, Denys de La Ronde, writing about Prince Edward Island, noted without apparent concern that “Wolves of great size abounded [there].”

Indeed, until about the middle of the eighteenth century, the intruders seem to have been relatively passive toward wolves except in those regions where settlement was proceeding. Explorers, fur trappers, even fishermen seemed neither to fear the animals nor to consider them a threat to life and limb. The fearsome legend of the all-devouring wolf, he of the slavering fangs and the blood-red eyes, came into existence on this continent only after Europeans settled down to “taming this wilderness and turning it into the Veritable Garden of Eden for Man's delight and use,” which, presumably, it now is.

By about 1750, the transformation of the wolf in the New World from natural denizen to ravening monster whom, as New Englanders believed, “the Devil hath created to Plague Mankind” was well under way. It was accepted as a tenet of faith that the wilderness could not be “tamed,” the New World “conquered,” as long as the wolf roamed the woods and plains, tundra and mountain valleys. So began one of the most ruthless and deliberate wars of extirpation ever waged by modern man against a fellow creature.

In 1877, the Reverend Philip Tocque reported on the progress of this war in Newfoundland. “A few years ago these animals were rather common in the neighbourhood of St. John's... An Act was passed... the Wolf-killing Act [with] a reward of Five Pounds... In proportion as the [human] population increases so will the Monarch of the Newfoundland forest disappear... [until] its existence will no longer be known. The history of almost every nation bears proof that, in the same ratio as the empire of man has been enlarged, so has the animal kingdom been invaded and desolated. The history of Newfoundland bears evidence that some of the tenants of the ocean and the feathered tribes have [already] become extinct by the agency of the destroying hand of man.”

The magnificent, almost pure white Newfoundland wolf, a distinct and unique subspecies of Arctic derivation, bore the prophetic name
Canis lupus beothucus,
to suggest its association with Newfoundland's aboriginal inhabitants, the Beothuk Indians. The white wolf was not long in joining its namesake tribe, as yet another extinction at the “destroying hand of man.” The last known survivor was shot in 1911.

The story was essentially and remains the same everywhere on the continent. Spurred on by bounties and rewards, modern men using poison, trap, snare, and gun, together with new weapons provided by an enlightened technology including helicopters and fragmentation grenades, have waged and continue to wage war to the death against the wolf in a campaign that will evidently only cease with the extinction of the animal in North America, if not in the world.

As of 1984,
Canis lupus
has already been exterminated in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, all of the southern portions of Ontario and Quebec, the Canadian Prairies and, effectively, Mexico and all of the United States south of the Canadian border with the exception of northeastern Minnesota and Michigan, where a few hundred survivors live in extreme jeopardy. From 1850 to 1900, bounty was paid on some
two million
wolves shot, trapped, or poisoned in the United States, exclusive of Alaska. During that period, a single “wolfer” equipped with a small sack of strychnine sulphate, ranging through territory after territory, could account for 500 wolves in a single season. Of the twenty-four subspecies and races of
Canis lupus
that inhabited North America at the beginning of the European conquest, seven are now totally extinct and most of the remainder are endangered.

The pros and cons of the wolf's reputation are complex. It must suffice to say here that the preponderance of independent scientific opinion agrees that the wolf serves a vital role in the well-being of its prey species; is no threat to human life; is responsible for only minute losses of domestic animals; and, for the most part, will not even live in proximity to human settlement and agricultural enterprises. We have doomed it to death, not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be—the mythologized epitome of a savage killer, which is, in truth, the reflected image of ourself.

A recent example of the systematic destruction of wolves, once again using the discredited argument that we are helping “more desirable” species to flourish, has been taking place in British Columbia, with the cabinet minister responsible for conservation leading a war of extermination.

“These ‘beautiful animals' may be pretty in a book, photo or a painting. They may be impressive in a zoo or in a contrived movie. In the bush under real conditions, they are one of the most dangerous, vicious, unrelenting killers in existence. Contrary to the Farley Mowatt [sic] version, they do not selectively kill. A pack of wolves will kill as many animals in a herd as they can, often tearing them open and leaving them to die slowly.”

This condemnation of the wolf was made in November, 1983, by British Columbia's Minister of Environment, Tony Brummett. Brummett's electoral constituency includes the Peace River district in the northeastern corner of the province and embraces one of the last remaining areas of wilderness where the wolf has been able to maintain a foothold. The region centres on the town of Fort Nelson and is a paradise for big game and trophy-hunting sports, mainly from Japan, Germany, and the United States. The recreational pursuits of these wealthy ladies and gentlemen are of some financial benefit to Fort Nelson's motels, restaurants, and retail stores and are extremely lucrative for the several local guiding and outfitting establishments.

When, in mid-1983, Brummett (himself an avid hunter) was told that the ever-increasing flow of foreign sports was depleting the supply of game in the Peace River region, he was as disturbed as his constituents. Since it would have been politically inexpedient to reduce the level of human hunting, Brummett decided to eliminate man's only significant natural competitor for moose, bighorn sheep, caribou, and other trophy animals. This course of action also had the added advantage of deflecting public awareness away from the real culprits. In short, the situation would be rectified by making the wolf culprit and target, not only in the flesh but in the mind.

Brummett's first move was to have his departmental biologists assemble the requisite “studies” to justify an indictment against the Peace River wolves. These government employees then took upon themselves the roles of judge and jury and, having found the wolf guilty as charged, recommended the death penalty. Brummett thereupon directed Dr. John Elliott of the department's Fish and Wildlife Service, who was chief prosecutor against the wolf and also resident “wildlife manager” at Fort Nelson, to conduct the execution.

For political reasons it was determined that no public announcement of the program would be made and that no more than $30,000 of taxpayers' money would be committed to the cause. However, Elliott was not to be left short of funds. Arrangements were made by the British Columbia branch of the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Northern B.C. Guides Association to provide additional funding to charter a helicopter with which Elliott could search out and destroy the wolf population of the North Peace region.

A word about the Canadian Wildlife Federation is called for at this juncture. Formed in the 1960s by hunting and fishing groups to represent their special interests, it must under no circumstances be confused (although such confusion seems suspiciously easy) either with the Canadian Wildlife Service—a federal government agency—or the Canadian Nature Federation—an affiliation of conservation and environmentalist groups. In its solicitations for funds and public support, the CWF proclaims it is devoted to “enhancing wildlife populations.” What it does not explain is that this “enhancement” is, to a very considerable degree, intended to provide living targets to satisfy its sportsmen members.

A packet of pretty stamps depicting flowers, butterflies, and songbirds, accompanying a solicitation for donations, which I recently received from the CWF, included this moving exhortation: “These stamps do a mighty job when you put one on every card, letter or package you send. They show a beautiful heritage we must all work together to protect. Use these stamps to remind others of the importance of wildlife, conservation and a healthy environment.”

The British Columbia chapter's assistance in Dr. Elliott's wildlife “enhancement” program included collaboration with the Wyoming-based Foundation for North American Sheep, a kindred organization devoted to “enhancing” stocks of wild sheep for sporting purposes. Its president boasts that the foundation spent $800,000 in 1983, a “goodly portion” of which was used in Canada for wolf-killing, forest-burning, and other attempts to improve the prospects for sheep hunters. Some $200,000 of this went to support Dr. Elliott's and Mr. Brummett's wolf management program.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation also arranged a 1,000-ticket raffle, at $100 a ticket, to raise additional funds for Elliott's work. First prize in the raffle was a ten-day hunting safari to Zimbabwe, where the lucky winner would have the opportunity to shoot his fill of African animals.

Initially all these proceedings were conducted
in camera,
as it were. But in early January, word of what was to be done with the profits from the raffle leaked out and the pot began to bubble. An inquisitive reporter then discovered not only what Brummett planned to do, but that Dr. Elliott was already hard at work.

Sequestered at the ranch of one of the region's wealthiest sportsmen, who was also a munificent benefactor of the governing Social Credit Party that Brummett represented, Elliott was in command of a strike force consisting of a helicopter supported by several fixed-wing aircraft. The latter, owned and flown by “volunteers,” fanned out over the wilderness, acting, as they merrily put it, like “air-borne hounds.” When one of them spotted a wolf family, he would radio Elliott, whose helicopter would then be flown to the target point. While the light planes herded the wolves to prevent them from escaping, Elliott hovered over them and blazed away with automatic weapons at point-blank range. When convenient, the corpses were recovered and their skins—worth from $75 to $100 each—given to the volunteers as rewards for services rendered. About thirty-five wolves had been killed by the time the story was uncovered.

All hell broke loose as conservationists began to rally in protest. Elliott was summoned to Victoria, the provincial capital, where Brummett held a press conference. Calling the program a simple matter of “game management,” the minister confirmed that its aim was “to ‘enhance' the numbers of animals for hunting.” He compared it to raising livestock. “In agriculture we try and produce more animals so we can butcher more.” Having then blandly claimed that his department was funding the entire program itself, he introduced Dr. Elliott. Simply and engagingly, Elliott explained that he was conducting a scientifically managed conservation program, whereby 80 per cent of the 500 wolves in the affected region would be “culled” in order to ensure the continuing good health of the big game population,
and of the wolves themselves
. Quoting facts and figures from his own studies, and others that reinforced his conclusions, Elliott seemed the epitome of the bright, young, dedicated scientist. Nevertheless, his “data base” was soon under assault as independent experts questioned both his methods and conclusions. The most devastating criticism was that no confirmation existed of Elliott's estimate of 500 wolves, of which he intended to kill 80 per cent. It was pointed out that this was an impossibly high population figure and that if Elliott did, in fact, find and kill anything like 400 wolves, he would have succeeded in wiping out the entire wolf population of a vast region.