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Poisoning wolves with strychnine is unacceptable in experimental studies and conservation programmes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2015

GILBERT PROULX ,
RYAN K. BROOK ,
MARC CATTET ,
CHRIS DARIMONT  and
PAUL C. PAQUET
GILBERT PROULX*
Affiliation:
Alpha Wildlife Research and Management Ltd, Alberta, T8H 1W3Canada
RYAN K. BROOK
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Poultry Science and the Indigenous Land Management Institute, University of Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8Canada
MARC CATTET
Affiliation:
Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, University of Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8Canada
CHRIS DARIMONT
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Hakai Institute, British Columbia, Canada
PAUL C. PAQUET
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Victoria and Raincoast Conservation Foundation, British Columbia, Canada
*
*Correspondence: Dr Gilbert Proulx e-mail: gproulx@alphawildlife.ca
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Summary

To reduce predation on a woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) population threatened by industrial disturbance, a recent study in Alberta (Canada) used strychnine baits to kill wolves (Canis lupus). Strychnine should not be used to control wolves because it is: (1) inhumane; (2) in contravention of animal welfare guidelines; and (3) non-selective.

Type
Comment
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 1 - 2
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2015 

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