It was confirmed by Alberta Parks and Parks Canada that two radio collared wolves were killed by the same trapper when they traveled 6 km outside of Banff National Park boundary in January.

It was reported that Craig Comstock, the first person who found the dead animals snared, was quoted as saying that their heads were cut off, their feet were cut off and they had been skinned.

Wildlife Ecologist with Parks Canada Jesse Whittington said Parks Canada does not yet know at this point exactly how many other wolves were captured or killed.

“We know that one of the Cascade-Panther wolves was caught in the snare because it was a collared wolf, that pack had two wolves and we don’t know the fate of the other wolf although staff have picked up tracks in the Panther valley. We do not have collars on the other wolves so we don’t their status or if they are still moving.

“We could tell from the GPS collar that one wolf was in mortality. If a collar is stationary for more than 24 hours it sends off a different signal. At first we didn’t know if the wolf had dropped its collar or had died and when we went in to investigate we found that two wolves had been caught in neck snares.”

Whittington said that Parks are currently trying to figure out if there are still wolves running through the valleys.

“Now that we have lost the all GPS collared wolves, we will have to try and collar some other wolves. We focus on what we can do in a National Park to conserve and protect wolves but when wolves travel outside the Park they face many hazards like trapping,” said Whittington.

Jim Pissot, the former director of Defenders of Wildlife, said the Province has no requirement to investigate trappers and that snares and traps remain a horribly cruel way to take animals.

“There is a lot of resistance globally and across the country for the sport of trapping. Trapping is an artifact of past centuries, with exception for the rights of indigenous people to take animals,” said Pissot.

Pissot said there is a need for new agreements to be reached and that it was time to look at other possibilities like purchasing trapline rights in areas adjacent to the National Parks.

“Perhaps Parks Canada or private citizens could purchase trapline rights along the National Park boundary and opt not to use them. This technique has been used and is successful in other places.”

He added that the Alberta economy should also look at the value of visitors viewing wolves as an attraction verses the value of a pelt.

A study titled Wolf Recovery in Yellowstone: Park Visitor Attitudes, Expenditures, and Economic Impacts published in 2008 stated that there was an annual visitor spending of US $35,520,929 in the Yellowstone area which was attributable to wolves being there.

“Once an animal is in a snare, that animal is in big trouble. There isn’t enough time to get there and by the time that animal is found it has already suffered a terrible death,” said Pissot.

The three wolf packs that mostly travel in Banff National Park are the Cascade-Panther, Red Deer and Bow Valley packs, and are small in size.

Spokesperson for Alberta Environment and Parks Olav Rokne said that there is no indication that trapping, as it is currently practiced, is a threat to the long term or short term health of these populations.

“We are keeping a very close eye on wolf populations, and they are stable,” he said last week.

There are currently no laws in place to protect a collared wolf outside of the National Park. Rokne confirmed trapping is allowed in most provincial parks and said “if a wolf is outside of the Park it’s not possible for a trapper to set a trap that only catches an uncollared wolf.”

“Individual trappers are not subject to a quota on wolves. That being said, we monitor both the overall population, as well as the harvest. At current population levels, and the current level of harvest that is carried out by the existing trapping community, there is no need to impose a quota.

“All wolves taken in WMUs 300-318, 324-330, 339, or 400-434 (Foothills and Mountain units) must be registered within 30 days of harvest. All non-killing traps must be checked within 48hrs on a Registered Fur Management License, or within 24hrs on a resident license,” said Rokne.