Labrador hunting group frustrated with George River caribou numbers

The president of the Labrador Hunting and Fishing Association is frustrated with the continued hunt of the George River caribou herd.

Earlier this week, the provincial government released numbers that showed the herd count was down 37 per cent in two years, adding if that rate continues the herd could be wiped out in less than five years.

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"It's very unsettling, very disturbing," says Tony Chubbs.

"It certainly concerns most people in Labrador, especially members that I represent in the Labrador Hunting and Fishing Association."

It's quite conceivable that they would become extinct.- Tony Chubbs

The herd has been steadily declining over the past 20 years, according to government, and was estimated to have about 800,000 animals in the early 1990s — a number that has since declined 99 percent.

"We hoped that the decline would have ceased by now and would start a gradual increase," Chubbs told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

According to Chubbs, this is not a unique situation, as caribou numbers in other parts of the country are also on a decline.

"These same sort of declines happened right across North America from Alaska all the way out here to the east," said Chubbs.

"We're the last large group of migratory caribou that have seen such a decline but most of these herds do recover if hunting is curtailed."

'They would become extinct'

Although it was once common for most all Labradorians to hunt the George River caribou herd, Chubbs said his association members have been abiding by the provincial government's ban on hunting the animals.

"It becomes difficult to become caught up in the politics of it," Chubbs said. "The recognition [by the province] that only Aboriginal people relied upon this as a food source."

The province first implemented the hunting ban in 2013 and it is currently in place until March 31, 2017.

According to Chubbs, concern that the herd could be wiped out needs to be on the mind of every Labrador hunter.

Chubbs said some hunting businesses that have shut down because they could no longer hunt the herd, hoping to get the population on the rebound, so the latest numbers are discouraging.

"It's a sad fact that if it continues to have hunting on such a small population of animals it's quite conceivable that they would become extinct in a short period of time."