Environment
Akaitcho government calls for immediate caribou protections
They are recommending an immediate halt to caribou harvesting for five years
Following a report sharing the updated numbers of the NWT’s caribou population, the Akaitcho Territory Government is strongly asking the GNWT to take immediate action.
The various caribou species across the NWT are a vital part of the food supply for the Akaitcho First Nations, who are now extremely concerned after the Department of Environment and Climate Change showed that caribou numbers have recently seen a dramatic fall.
During their annual general assembly on November 25th to the 27th, ATG chiefs and delegates discussed what could be done to help the caribou replenish their numbers and are recommending that a boundary zone be put in place to help prevent winter road hunting for a period of five years. They are wishing to halt caribou harvesting as soon as possible, with an allowance to revisit the matter once per year until such time as the caribou populations return to a healthier number.
ATG leadership has sent letters to Premier R.J. Simpson and Jay MacDonald, the Minister of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, asking them to immediately implement these measures.
The Akaitcho government has stated that other Indigenous regions are in agreement that some kind of protections must be put in place to help the caribou populations.
