First Nations have imposed a hunting ban on a wide swath of territory in the B.C. interior.
The Tŝilhqot’in Nation and Southern Dãkelh Nation Alliance (SDNA) have partnered to prevent Limited Entry Hunts (LEH) for moose within their territories.
They accuse the B.C. government of not doing enough to protect struggling moose populations made even more vulnerable by last year’s unprecedented wildfire season.
The Tŝilhqot’in and Dãkelh say that things are so bad, many of their citizens are deciding not to exercise their Aboriginal rights to hunt moose and going without this main source of food for the winter.
Tŝilhqot’in National Government Vice-Chair Russell Myers Ross says while the province has made some efforts to work with them on moose protection and recovery, he says they are not taking the action that is urgently needed to prevent the decline of moose populations.
The Nations say they welcome other First Nations to join their efforts in the months to come and ask all hunters to respect the ban.
