Trapping limits lifted so data can be gathered: Alta. government [Video]

EDMONTON –

Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen says the decision to lift limits on trapping and harvesting for animals like wolverines is being done to get more data on how many there are.

Until recently, trappers on Crown land were almost entirely prohibited from trapping wolverines, and less prohibitively lynx, river otters and fishers — but Loewen’s decision means it’s now open season on all four.

Speaking to delegates at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta conference Thursday, Loewen said it was impossible for him to defend the virtual ban on these fur-bearing creatures that was previously in place because current population numbers for the animals are not known, especially in the case of wolverines.

One of the most recent population estimates for wolverines in Alberta, completed in 2003, estimated fewer than 1,000 breeding ones left in the province.

Loewen said by lifting the limits, government officials and conservationists will get a better …