VOCM February 2, 2017

The provincial government and local Indigenous groups are stressing the importance of adhering to the hunting ban on the George River caribou herd located in Labrador.

The herd is now wintering near Nain and Natuashish, which the provincial government says could leave them vulnerable to hunting activity.

The provincial government says their visible presence in the area should not be interpreted as a resurgence in the herd's population. The herd has dwindled to fewer than 9,000 animals, a drop of 99 percent from peak population figures of 800,000 just over 20 years ago.

Both the Nunatsiavut Government and the NanutuKavut Community Council are reiterating their support for the hunting ban, and their commitment to the protection and conservation of the herd.

The provincial government has sent letters to the leadership of the Nunatsiavut Government, the Innu Nation, the NunatuKavut Community Council and the Labrador Hunting and Fishing Association, advising them of the status of the herd and its vulnerability.

Craig Pomeroy

Let’s all hope that everybody respects the ban on hunting until this once magnificent herd of animals first stabilizes and then rebounds in numbers. It is incomprehensible how the number of animals remaining in this herd got so low as what it currently stands at. How we ever got here without prior intervention from Government, Wildlife and Indigenous leaderships who were the stewards of this resource, while numbers were still strong is still a mystery to me and to many others. Somebody was definitely asleep at the wheel!!