Cape Breton Highlands moose cull not needed, says hunting guide
Dennis Day says last winter's heavy snow reduced the population naturally
A hunting guide in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park wants Parks Canada to cancel a moose cull planned for November because he says there's no need for it.
Dennis Day of Dingwall says heavy snow in the park last winter took a severe toll on the moose population and led many of them to starve.
"All their vegetation that they would eat was buried and [there was] just so much snow, they were suffering, trying to get through it," he said.
"It was a sad winter for the moose, very sad."
Day says people who commute through the area used to see a few moose each day, but that has changed.
"Now, you're lucky if you see one every two weeks," he said.
Day said he guided 12 hunting parties this season in an area known as Zone 1, which is at the extreme northern tip of Cape Breton on North Mountain.
He said all the parties were successful, but they had to hunt in areas outside of Day's usual spots because the moose were so scarce.
The reason behind the moose cull
Moose eat young tree saplings and last fall, Parks Canada proposed the cull as part of a multi-year plan to help the forest regenerate.
On its website, Parks Canada has outlined the elements of the project. It proposes to reduce the moose population in a 20-square kilometre area by 90 per cent and it says that doing this will allow the forest to regenerate on its own.
In 2012, Parks Canada signed a deal to give aboriginal hunters first access to moose whenever there is a "hyperabundance" of the population.
Mi'kmaq hunters will be allowed to take as many as 40 moose on North Mountain this year and next year.
This fall's hunt is tentatively scheduled to start in the second week of November.