Ministry wants to see Sask. moose population decrease
By Tonaya Marr, Leader-Post
The Ministry of Environment is looking at ways to control the moose population.
The Ministry of Environment is keeping a close eye on Saskatchewan's moose population.
According to Minister of Environment Ken Cheveldayoff, the government is looking into new ways to reduce the moose population in Saskatchewan."I've asked the Ministry of Environment to look at options to being even more aggressive on the numbers," said Cheveldayoff.
The moose population is controlled through hunting, with licences handed out in the Big Game draw. The number of licences has been increasing. This season, 4,840 licences were handed out across Saskatchewan, with 2,650 in the southern portion of the province, an increase of 455 licences in that region last season.
Cheveldayoff 's announcement follows the death of RCMP Cst. Derek Pineo, whose cruiser collided with a moose on Highway 14 west of Wilkie early Friday morning.
In order to better understand the number of collisions involving moose in Saskatchewan, Cheveldayoff said the ministry will be speaking with SGI officials to examine wildlife collisions. Currently, SGI lists the number of moose-related collisions under the wildlife category when making a claim. In 2011, there were nearly 16,000 collisions with wildlife claimed - 11,015 of these being collisions with deer. As well, 304 people reported injuries and two died as a result of wildlife collisions.
According to Rebecca Rogoschewsky, spokeswoman for SGI, SGI could be collecting data on moose-vehicle collisions as early as this fall, with clearer statistics after a year. SGI could also look back into previous claims to find out if moose were specified in wildlifecollision claims. "Generally, in order to see trends of any type, you need to have a couple years worth of data to see if those numbers are increasing or decreasing," said Rogoschewsky .
The auto fund paid out more than $47 million in wildlife claims in 2011. "If the Ministry of Environment does feel that would help them ... by all means, it's definitely something that we'd look at," said Rogoschewsky .
The moose population in Saskatchewan has been steadily increasing, especially in the southern portion of the province. Moose typically live in the forested areas of the province, including island forests like Moose Mountain. However, recent years have seen moose migrating into the wide-open prairies, something that has seen their numbers growing. "(Moose) usually have a minimum of two calves ... down here they're able to raise them both quite successfully" said Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, explaining that in the northern and forested areas of the province, moose calves are frequently lost to predators. Without predators in the southern part of the province, the moose population has an easier time growing.
According to Crabbe, hunting has kept the moose population in control. Harsh winters also have the potential to decrease the population, and adjusting the number of hunting licences issued following a difficult winter can prevent the decimation of the population."That's one of the beauties of the system we have in place here - it does have a check value for the following year," said Crabbe.
The moose population is controlled through hunting, with licences handed out in the Big Game draw. The number of licences has been increasing. This season, 4,840 licences were handed out across Saskatchewan, with 2,650 in the southern portion of the province, an increase of 455 licences in that region last season.
Cheveldayoff 's announcement follows the death of RCMP Cst. Derek Pineo, whose cruiser collided with a moose on Highway 14 west of Wilkie early Friday morning.
In order to better understand the number of collisions involving moose in Saskatchewan, Cheveldayoff said the ministry will be speaking with SGI officials to examine wildlife collisions. Currently, SGI lists the number of moose-related collisions under the wildlife category when making a claim. In 2011, there were nearly 16,000 collisions with wildlife claimed - 11,015 of these being collisions with deer. As well, 304 people reported injuries and two died as a result of wildlife collisions.
According to Rebecca Rogoschewsky, spokeswoman for SGI, SGI could be collecting data on moose-vehicle collisions as early as this fall, with clearer statistics after a year. SGI could also look back into previous claims to find out if moose were specified in wildlifecollision claims. "Generally, in order to see trends of any type, you need to have a couple years worth of data to see if those numbers are increasing or decreasing," said Rogoschewsky .
The auto fund paid out more than $47 million in wildlife claims in 2011. "If the Ministry of Environment does feel that would help them ... by all means, it's definitely something that we'd look at," said Rogoschewsky .
The moose population in Saskatchewan has been steadily increasing, especially in the southern portion of the province. Moose typically live in the forested areas of the province, including island forests like Moose Mountain. However, recent years have seen moose migrating into the wide-open prairies, something that has seen their numbers growing. "(Moose) usually have a minimum of two calves ... down here they're able to raise them both quite successfully" said Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, explaining that in the northern and forested areas of the province, moose calves are frequently lost to predators. Without predators in the southern part of the province, the moose population has an easier time growing.
According to Crabbe, hunting has kept the moose population in control. Harsh winters also have the potential to decrease the population, and adjusting the number of hunting licences issued following a difficult winter can prevent the decimation of the population."That's one of the beauties of the system we have in place here - it does have a check value for the following year," said Crabbe.
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