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IN THIS ISSUE B.C. Wolf Cull: Saving Endangered Caribou? (Duration: 10:49) In early 2015, British Columbia launched a controversial five-year cull of the province's wolf population
in order to preserve endangered herds of mountain caribou. Animal experts call it cruel, environmentalists
say culls don't work, and many agree humans are the real culprit in the caribou decline. Just how far
should we go to preserve one species?
News in Review Study Modules Wildlife Rescue: Controversy in B.C.,
March 2005
Canadian Wolves Go South: Reclaiming
A Habitat, March 1996
Related CBC Programs Billion Dollar Caribou
Meet the Coywolf
Walking with Ghosts
Wild Canada
Yellowstone to Yukon: The Wild Heart of North
America Credits News in Review is produced by CBC News
Resource Guide Writer: Jennifer Watt
Host: Michael Serapio
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Associate Producer: Agathe Carrier
Supervising Manager: Laraine Bone
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News in Review – April 2015 – Teacher Resource Guide B.C. WOLF CULL: Saving Endangered Caribou? Note to Teachers The classroom must promote a safe place for students to discuss sensitive issues such as animal welfare. Prepare students for the topics that will be discussed. Allow for individual reflective time in addition to small group activities where students can safely process their thoughts and emotions. VIDEO REVIEW Pre‐viewing Which of the following quotations resonates with you the most and why? Discuss.
“If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to
them, you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.”
– Chief Dan George
“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
– Immanuel Kant
“I don’t understand why when we destroy something created by man we call it vandalism, but when we
destroy something created by nature we call it progress.”
– Ed Begley Jr.
“Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it that we can destroy the only planet
we have?”
– Jane Goodall
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview
1 APRIL 2015 – B.C. WOLF CULL: SAVING ENDANGERED CARIBOU?
Viewing 1. How many wolves will be hunted down in the B.C. cull?
2. What is the reason for the cull?
3. How is the B.C. government planning to kill the wolves?
4. Wolves are an endangered species.
 True
 False
5. What do wolves typically eat?
6. Why are wolves now eating caribou?
7. What percentage of caribou deaths are caused by wolves?
8. Why do some people argue for drastic intervention to save the caribou?
9. How successful was the intervention to save pregnant caribou and their calves by penning them?
10. How many wolves have been hunted in Alberta since 2006?
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview
2 APRIL 2015 – B.C. WOLF CULL: SAVING ENDANGERED CARIBOU?
11. Why do some people feel the wolf kill is unethical?
12. Do you think that the caribou is going to disappear even if all wolves are killed? What argument is
made to this effect?
Post‐viewing 1. What is the main assumption that B.C. and Alberta have made regarding declining caribou numbers?
2. What evidence do you think they need to prove that their assumption is correct?
3. Is it possible that their assumption is incorrect? How? Why?
4. Return to the quotes in the pre- viewing section. How do these quotes speak to you now after viewing
the video about the wolf cull?
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview
3 APRIL 2015 – B.C. WOLF CULL: SAVING ENDANGERED CARIBOU?
CONDUCTING AN INQUIRY ON WOLVES Beginning the inquiry 1. Record three words that come to your mind to describe wolves.
2. Are your three words positive, negative or neutral?
3. What basic knowledge do you have about wolves?
4. Is your knowledge gained through real life experiences with wolves? Or did you learn about them
through books, websites, television or film? What difference does this make?
5. How are wolves portrayed in the media and movies? How are they portrayed in literature? Why is the
portrayal of an animal in popular culture significant?
6. “Wolves are either symbolically evil or symbolically good.” In what ways do you agree with this
observation? How does our portrayal of wolves as evil or good interfere with our ability to co-exist
with them?
7. What information do you feel you would like to gain in order to understand wolves more deeply as a
unique and important species? Create open-ended inquiry questions to guide your research (i.e. Are
wolves good or bad? Are wolves less important than caribou? Can we live in harmony with wolves?”)
Continuing the inquiry Sharing the results of the inquiry Conduct research to answer your inquiry question. Gather sources that represent multiple perspectives. Analyse your sources to insure they are credible and reliable. Share the answer to your inquiry question through a blog, slideshow, debate, infographic, or series of Tweets to the conservation authority in BC or Alberta or other implicated organization. Write a paragraph that synthesizes your research and justifies your answer to the inquiry question. In the paragraph, consider an alternative answer to the question. News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview
4 APRIL 2015 – B.C. WOLF CULL: SAVING ENDANGERED CARIBOU?
SPECIESISM You are most likely familiar with a
range of words that are called “isms”—
words used to describe prejudicial
thinking and actions. Racism, sexism,
ageism and classism are examples of
“isms.”
But have you ever heard the word
speciesism? You can probably infer that
the word is derived from “species.” Is it
possible that prejudice and
discrimination can result when we, as
humans, consider ourselves superior to
all others species? Some people feel
very strongly that humans are not
entitled to moral superiority based on
their species and that speciesism is a
fundamental problem. Others argue that
humans are unique in the animal
kingdom, and that it’s just common
sense to think of ourselves as better than
other animals. They may also argue that
humans have been given the capacity to
use animals and care for them in an
ethical manner.
Considering Speciesism With a partner, discuss these statements
and questions:

What human behaviours may be
considered evidence of speciesism?

In what ways do you agree that
humans are a superior species and
why?

In what ways do you disagree?

How much of a problem do you
think speciesism is in your life?
How much of a problem are some of
the other “isms”?
Multiple Perspectives on Speciesism 1
Do a web image search for “speciesism quotes.” Choose three images that you think make a powerful argument and explain what criteria makes them effective. Which image do you think makes a weak argument and explain why the argument is not effective? 2
Create a provocative image of your own that represents your point of view on animal and/or human rights. 3
Animal rights activists often use provocative comparisons to make their point. For example, they equate eating a hamburger with murder, raising chickens in factories to slavery, and the treatment of animals in factory farms as a holocaust. How do you feel about these comparisons? Are they justifiable or not? Why or why not? In answering the question you should consider arguments from those who condemn speciesism and those who defend it (Wikipedia offers a good overview of both sides). 4
This BBC site also offers a helpful summary of arguments for and against: bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/rights/speciesism.shtml 5
Watch the trailer to Mark Devrier’s film Speciesism: The Movie. This movie deals with factories that raise animals for consumption. Predict what images and arguments may be made. Before watching the trailer, what questions occur to you? And after? vimeo.com/ondemand/speciesism News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview
5 APRIL 2015 – B.C. WOLF CULL: SAVING ENDANGERED CARIBOU?
THE POWER OF WORDS As a critical reader, it is important to think about
the power of words. While your overall purpose
in reading is to understand information, you
should also consider the word choice that the
author makes in the writing.
governments it can be called (1) a cull, (2) a
conservation approach or (3) managing the
wolves. To a critical reader, these are obvious
examples of how word choice reveals the point
of view of the author and helps them to make
their argument more persuasive.
Typically an author’s word choice can reveal
something about the author’s beliefs and point of
view. Critical readers notice how words can
influence emotions and thinking. For example,
we could call someone who bombs an embassy a
terrorist or a freedom-fighter. In recent military
conflicts, we typically “neutralize” the enemy
instead of “killing” them. If a government is
overthrown and a leader assassinated, it can be
politely referred to as a “regime change.” If
wolves are killed intentionally by provincial
1
2
3
“
“
“
B.C. war on wolves
Now let’s dig deeper into the issue of wolf
killing and the different perspectives that it
entails.
The following headlines, quotes and excerpts on
the topic are provided for you to consider. For
each of the examples, highlight the word use, the
imagery and the evidence presented. Consider
how language choice affects your thinking on
the topic and reveals the writer’s point of view.
”
– Title of CBC News video clip ”
In British Columbia’s northeast, there’s blood in the snow.
– CBC reporter Chris Brown in this News in Review story Towns are putting bounties on wolves that menace livestock Wolf bounties became something of a cause célèbre last year when it came out that, as Alaska governor, Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin had offered hunters $150 per kill. American actress Ashley Judd kept the issue alive into the new year, releasing a video calling upon Palin to ‘stop this senseless savagery.’ Judd’s pitch triggered what the press pounced on as a ‘cat fight,’ the kind of celebrity row that can cloud an issue. In fact, wolves and people are increasingly encroaching upon each other’s territories, and the implications for both sides are serious. This winter, a pack in Bradore, Que., not far from Labrador, has residents cowering indoors, with one woman recently describing how wolves devoured one of her Siberian huskies.
”
Source: Kohler, Nicholas (February 25, 2009). The little country that cried wolf. Macleans.ca. Retrieved from:
macleans.ca/news/canada/the-little-country-that-cried-wolf/
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview
6 APRIL 2015 – B.C. WOLF CULL: SAVING ENDANGERED CARIBOU?
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Conservationists are warning that privately funded bounties for killing wolves are shifting control over Alberta’s wildlife management to special interest groups. The Alberta Wilderness Association has compiled data showing that ‘harvest incentives’ offered by northern municipal districts and hunting and trapping groups are encouraging an increasing and unregulated number of wolf kills. ‘Wolf predation on farm animals and wild animals is increasing at a high rate,’ said fish and game president Gordon Poirier. The packs are doing well after several years of good deer numbers, he said. ‘The wolves are smiling and happy and fat.’
”
Source: Weber, Bob (March 27, 2013). Conservationists warn that private bounties are driving large wolf kills in
Alberta. Macleans.ca. Retrieved from: macleans.ca/news/conservationalists-warn-that-private-bounties-are-drivinglarge-wolf-kills-in-alberta/
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview
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