With the moose population continuing to decline in the Portneuf Wildlife Reserve on Huron-Wendat ancestral territory, a moratorium on hunting may be imposed in the not-so-distant future.
“When we look at the indicators for the Portneuf Wildlife Reserve, it’s quite clear, they all point in the same direction, the population is decreasing,” says Jean-Pierre Tremblay, professor of biology at Laval University.
Tremblay says at the moment, wolves, parasites and ticks are contributing to the decline of the animal – but hunting may also be playing a part in the population decline.
Huron-Wendat has hunted on their ancestral land for generations.
Denis Gravel is a guide, hunter and fire keeper in his homes community of Wendake.
He says if giving up hunting will help the moose – he’s ready to adhere to a ban.
“We have reached this moment, at this time when we must protect the resource so that we can allow our children and our grandchildren to benefit from it,” he says.
Tremblay says hunting is the easiest factor to take out of the equation when looking for solutions.
“Certainly one of the main factors with which we are able to most easily do something, relatively, is the harvest [of moose] because we control it almost entirely,” he says.
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Moose sport hunting moratorium in Quebec brings uneasy peace
APTN reached out to the Huron-Wendat Nation band council and Quebec’s ministry of wildlife. Both refused to comment while negotiations over what to do with the moose decline are taking place.
“Obviously, for everyone concerned, I believe that we have reached a point where we must put our quarrels behind us, we must come together to create an alliance so that we can protect the resource,” says Gravel.
An aerial survey of the stock is now taking place.
This story was translated and read by Tom Fennario
