Illegal caribou hunt under investigation; Quebec Innu take responsibility

Wildlife officers are investigating the illegal slaughter of caribou in the Birch Lake region in southern Labrador earlier this week, with a representative of a Quebec Innu group stepping forward to claim responsibility for the hunt. 

Newfoundland and Labrador fish and wildlife officers received a complaint from the public Monday, alleging caribou were being hunted illegally.

On Friday, Francois Levesque, the lawyer for the Pakua Shipi Innu from Quebec's Lower North Shore, said about 20 hunters were responsible for the hunt, but added that the action will not harm the herd. 

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Wildlife officers had travelled to the area and determined a number of caribou had been killed and are investigating the illegal hunt.

Dwindling caribou numbers in the Labrador region have been a concern for years, prompting government to impose some bans on hunting herds of caribou.

However, Levesque said the Pakua Shipi Innu have hunted caribou in the region for centuries, adding it's their way of life and a significant part of their culture.

"That's what they did all their lives. Their father, their grandfather, for centuries they've been hunting caribou," he said. "Telling the Pakua Shipi Innu not to hunt is like telling them not to breathe."

Levesque added the hunters bring the meat back to their community and share it as it's needed with other members.

While he said the Innu are "of course" worried about the declining caribou herds, the Innu hunt is not the cause.

"The decline has reasons and these reason is probably years and years of projects, of mining, of cutting trees, of commercial hunting," said Levesque.

"They kill thousands of caribou, the American tourists. Why don't you worry about that?"

Levesque added there aren't other options available to the community when it comes to getting fresh meat, because there's no access to a grocery story.

A ferry will bring in frozen meat occasionally, he said, but the cost to purchase isn't something residents can afford.

The justice department declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.