Whitehorse Star and Yukon News, March 14/08.

Time, money and animals to kill!

This is an open letter to the Department of Environment.

Elk and bison were brought to the Yukon for people to kill. Period. If these animals had come on their own, they would have probably come more slowly, with a gentler impact. Now they are an ongoing, very expensive make-work project for your wildlife “managers.” What did it cost to round up the elk, contain them in a pen and give them medicated feed?(Star,March 7). If the ticks persist, will the elk also be slaughtered in that pen slaughtered like the Northern Splendour reindeer herd?

What is it costing taxpayers to “manage” the bison through hunting, and to map the location of the bison for the convenience of the hunters? What does it cost to monitor the bison through ongoing aerial surveys and to update the maps every week. Who benefits from this besides the hunters?

The public deserves a prompt reply to these questions. Don't we?

The bison are elusive because they have learned that humans are a threat. Bison are herd animals. They live and operate in groups, and they learn from experience. They have lost family members to hunters. They try to protect other members of their herd from such threats, and they grieve the loss of those who have been hunted.

Why not just round up the bison and put them in a pen the way they did with the elk? Then the hunters would know where to find them. Or you could arrange a shuttle service for the bison hunters. To spare these hunters from the cold weather, you could package the meat for them, too, with the help of Archie Lang’s (Minister of energy, mines and resources) mobile abattoir. Or maybe Philip Merchant (wildlife expert) could mount a couple of machine guns on the front of a helicopter and execute some of the elk and bison. But best be careful to leave the biggest and best animals for the clients of outfitters to execute. You wouldn’t want to step on the toes of the outfitters, the (other) “stewards of the land.”

On second thoughts, please don’t do any of the above. Let’s leave these animals in peace. I’m sure in time the disease called “humankind” will succeed in reducing the population of all species, if not through hunting then through exploration, development and destruction of natural habitat. These are the major concerns that your department should be addressing.

Animals are not the problem!

Mike Grieco