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Valley rancher says thank you to conservation officers

It is a very reassuring to know that the Conservation Officer Service is there if we need them

Editor, The Times:

We would like to convey our gratitude for the work done by our conservation officers in the Kamloops and Clearwater districts. We have had a very difficult year of predators harassing our cattle at home and on range.

Last spring we had a calf killed near our home. We called the Conservation Officer Service on the Saturday of the May long weekend to report what we believed to be a wolf kill. We reported this directly to our local conservation officer, as well as the Report-a-Poacher toll free line.

The next morning, Kevin Van Damme, a conservation officer from Clearwater, arrived to verify that the kill was wolf caused and set traps in the area. By Tuesday morning, we had caught our wolf. Tuesday morning, the Report-a-Poacher response arrived but it was obviously taken care of. Kevin’s willingness to be available at all times was a crucial part of this success and we are grateful.

We had a similar situation during the spring of 2010, when a wolf killed a calf at the end of May in our pasture. We called BC Cattlemen’s Association as they were in charge of the Predator Loss Program at the time. We had preserved the carcass so it could be verified.

Three or four days later, the kill was verified but it was too late to put out traps, etc, though that option was not really offered to us. We were told it would take several days, possibly weeks, to get someone to track the wolves, making that possibility futile.

In July 2011, we had a yearling heifer come home with part of her tail missing and definite wolf markings all around her back end. Kevin was here again within 24 hours to check and verify that it was wolf. Because she came home on her own and we were unsure of which part of the range she was on when attacked, it was decided that there was not enough evidence to set traps. Thankfully this cow survived.

During August and September, two cows and a calf disappeared on range. We found one cow carcass that was a fresh kill. We reported to the Report-a-Poacher line as well as directly to our local conservation officer. Once again, within 24 hours, Kevin was with us to verify the kill and create a game plan on how to eliminate the problem wolves.

Kevin and his co-worker, Tobe Sprado, set 12 traps and a number of snares. Within the next 10 days we trapped a total of six wolves on the cow carcass. It was very successful. There have been sightings since this trapping of at least seven more wolves in the immediate area.

Hunters found the second missing cow in October. Though there was not enough left of the carcass to verify this kill, we assume it was wolves as she was a young healthy cow unlikely to die of natural causes. Also, wolf sign surrounded the carcass and wolves had definitely eaten it. Conservation Officer Van Damme found that there was enough evidence to set a line of traps, in which we trapped one more wolf.

Throughout the summer, we observed our cattle being very jumpy and always running, even at the slightest noise. There was fresh wolf scat, and lots of it, everywhere that we went to check our cows.

There are serious implications to our operation from the stress on our cows of being hunted by the wolves. Our cows breeding cycle will undoubtedly be affected, making our calving season very trying and long. It has also had a major impact on our calf weight gain. Upon selling our calves this fall, our animals are at least 50 to 100 pounds lighter than last year. Conservatively, 50 pounds over 100 calves at $1.50 per pound is $7,500, which is a huge loss we will never be compensated for. If we can stop this excessive wolf population from hunting our cattle, we will be able to have a much more successful year in 2012.

We do not oppose a small population of wolves; they are a natural animal that deserves a natural environment to live in, provided they eat natural prey. We do, however, feel that there has to be more management of the population in the majority of British Columbia.

We have been working mostly with Conservation Officer Kevin Van Damme and he has been very supportive. We feel strongly that the Ministry in charge of Conservation Officer Service is on the right track putting the conservation officers in charge of these issues and giving them the ability to be very successful.

We did witness how very busy these conservation officers are. They are required to cover a very large area due to staffing levels and funding restraints. These issues need to be addressed as expediently as possible.

We were of the initial opinion that government involvement could make things more difficult, but we were at a loss for what to do.

That first phone call to Conservation Officer Kevin Van Damme changed everything for us. Now he is the first person we call when we have an issue with predation. We value his knowledge and we do not move forward without his input.

We cannot stress enough how crucial a role availability played in our ability to have some success.

We are very grateful to the Conservation Officer Service for its support in this manner and though our hope is to not need their services in the future, it is a very reassuring to know that the Conservation Officer Service is there if we need them.

Ian and Brenda Jones

Louis Creek, B.C.