Norway to kill 25% of its wolves

  Last Updated: Friday, 21 January, 2005, 17:28 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version  Norway to kill 25% of its wolves By Alex Kirby
BBC News website environment correspondent
One wolf pack is to be shot (Image: WWF-Canon/Chris Martin Bahr)The Norwegian government has decided to kill five of the country's grey wolves - a quarter of the entire population.

It says the decision is necessary to protect domestic livestock, but one campaign group has condemned the cull.

WWF-Norway says two wolves have been shot already, one of them from a pack which has not been targeted and which it fears may now not manage to survive.

Wolves are protected in Norway, and are listed as critically endangered, and WWF says many people oppose the cull.

The decision to kill five animals out of the 20 remaining in Norway was taken by the nature directorate, which advises the government. WWF-Norway is calling for an immediate halt to the hunt.

Survival 'at risk'

Its head, Rasmus Hansson, said: "If the Norwegian environment minister does not stop this hunt, he will have the dubious honour of allowing the regular hunting of a nationally endangered species.

Breeding may be at risk (Image: WWF-Canon/Chris Martin Bahr)"The culling of 20-30% of a population this size is a serious threat to the survival of this species in Norway.

"This practice is contrary to internationally accepted standards for wildlife management. No other country that I know of has such an aggressive policy towards its wolves."

The Norwegian parliament decided last May the country should sustain at least three family packs of wolves.

Packs can range in size from two adults to 10 or more animals covering several generations. WWF says the current hunt will reduce the number of packs to two at most.

Mr Hansson told the BBC: "One wolf from the pack to be culled was shot on 15 January, and another female from a different pack on 21 January.

"We don't know the exact size of the targeted pack, because we don't know whether it produced any cubs last summer. If it did, they will be left orphaned.

Steady decline

"Now, in all likelihood, by killing the wrong animal they've ruined another pack. The animal was an alpha female, so breeding may be affected and the pack could dissolve."

Norway's wolves are now very rare (Image: WWF-Canon/Roger LeGuen)WWF says there were an estimated 50-80 wolves in the southern part of Norway and Sweden in 2001, consisting of several families.

That year Norway approved the culling of eight out of its 25 wolves, leaving 20 today, because the target was not met.

A recent study of the wider Scandinavian wolf population concluded there were 120 at the most.

Mr Hansson said: "There is a serious risk of genetic degradation in this population because of its small size. A genetically healthy population... should have at least 800 individuals."

He told the BBC: "The cull is meant to protect sheep. Sheep farming occupies 90% of Norway's territory.

"We have 250-300,000 moose and 30,000 reindeer. In that perspective 800 wolves shouldn't be too many, though we've never suggested it - it's just a biological fact."

Alcohol Deaths Spur Change on Reservation

Alcohol Deaths Spur Change on Reservation Alcohol-Related Deaths of Four Boys in Six Months Spur Changes on Reservation in Montana The Associated Press

Jan. 2, 2005 - The Flathead Indian Reservation is shifting its focus to children and retooling tribal policies following the drinking deaths of four boys in a six-month period. The deaths, starting in late 2003, stunned the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, but inspired a gritty resolve to help children deal with alcohol without underestimating the power of generations of alcohol abuse.

"It seems like we've got some good things going, but I think we can't forget that we are fighting something that has been a problem for our people for hundreds of years," said Tony Incashola, head of the Salish Cultural Committee. "Sometimes there's a sense of 'Hey, what can we really do?' but you can't let that stop you from trying."

Tyler Benoist died first. The 14-year-old spent the night drinking with friends in November 2003 and was found dead of smoke inhalation in a burned trailer in Pablo. Authorities said he had passed out with a blood-alcohol level of 0.233.

Three months later, Tyler's 11-year-old brother, Justin, and another boy, Frankie Nicolai, vanished from Ronan Middle School. A friend found their bodies three days later.

Tests concluded alcohol poisoning killed Frankie, whose blood-alcohol level was 0.50 percent, more than six times the drunken-driving threshold in Montana. Justin, whose blood alcohol was 0.20 percent, died from a combination of alcohol poisoning and hypothermia.

No one was charged in the case.

In May, 15-year-old Joey DuMontier drank most of a fifth of whiskey and died in a chair at a home northeast of Ronan. Sentencing is scheduled Jan. 22 for Richard Lopez, 21, of Ronan who pleaded guilty to providing at least some of the alcohol.

Tribal leaders knew something had to be done. For a while, the response appeared mostly symbolic through rallies, walks and get-togethers held to generate ideas and allow the public to grieve.

"I think all the rallies and events were a way for people to feel like they were doing something," Incashola said. "A rally is a way, on one hand, to show support, but it's also a way to say 'Well, what else can we do?' This was so big that people had a very difficult time imagining how we could really respond to it."

In recent months, the tribal council has stepped up, appointing a team to identify ways the government can better respond to children's needs and outlining tribal policy regarding children in a tribal children's code.

The tribes also recently took part in a training program that should ultimately lead to formation of a drug court. The court would be family oriented, with neither children nor adults treated in isolation.

"You're dealing with the family as a unit, so the whole system is essentially gathered around the family," said Teresa Wall-McDonald, who heads the tribes' Department of Human Resources and Development.

Tribal elders have also become more involved by connecting with tribal programs that deal with children.

"They're coming at this from the perspective of making sure that we find ways to connect with the positive values of the past," Incashola said. "A lot of elders have felt helpless and hopeless about passing down the value of family, so there's a real push there to see if we can do something about that."

Despite the changes, grief is never far away on the reservation in northwestern Montana, he said.

"When you lose young people, I think it's something you never quite get over," Incashola said. "There will always be something that makes you remember what happened. Those are wounds that never quite heal, but they also make you remember what you ought to be doing to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again."

Information from: Missoulian,

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Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada

 Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada

 

 "In addition to allegations of physical and sexual abuse, which are found in 90% of the legal claims, allegations relating to such things as cultural loss, breach of treaty, loss of education opportunity, forcible confinement and poor conditions at the schools are also alleged.   Now over 5,000 cases representing nearly 12,000 individuals make claims against the Government. Seventy per cent of claimants themselves also name a church institution in addition to the Government.   There have been over 630 settlements and 11 court judgements."
http://www.irsr-rqpa.gc.ca/english/history.html   http://www.irsr-rqpa.gc.ca/english/who_we_are.html

Improving Cancer Care for Native Americans

Fri Nov 19,11:47 PM

FRIDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDayNews) -- A research project designed to increase access of Native Americans in South Dakota to cancer clinical trials and new cancer treatments has received a five-year, $5.4 million grant from the U.S. National Cancer Institute (news - web sites).

 Native Americans have higher cancer death rates than the general population, largely because the disease is often more advanced by the time they are diagnosed.

This project is being conducted by the Rapid City Regional Hospital, the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Mayo Rochester Comprehensive Cancer Center. It focuses on the Lakota (Western Sioux) population in South Dakota.

There are three main objectives. The project will attempt to identify major factors that cause health-care disparities among Native Americans served by Rapid City Regional Hospital. It will also assess whether shorter, but equally effective, courses of treatment will improve acceptability and completion rates of radiotherapy among the Lakota.

The project will also explore whether there is a genetic basis for anecdotal reports that Native Americans suffer greater side effects when they undergo radiation therapy.

"Traditionally, Native Americans have been less likely to benefit from the progress being made in cancer research because of a multitude of barriers," principal investigator and radiation oncologist Dr. Daniel Petereit said in a prepared statement.

"To address these barriers, we are working closely with the Sioux Nation to develop innovative approaches that will ensure Native Americans have equal access to the best possible care," Petereit said.

The project is outlined in the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.