VICTORIA, British Columbia, July 27 (UPI) -- A Texas couple's account of their wolf hunt in British Columbia has angered Canadian conservationists.
Lynne and Eddie Hopkins said they bagged five wolves and two coyotes in February during a hunt with Wicked River Outfitters, Postmedia News reported Tuesday. The couple, members of the Dallas Safari Club, won the hunting trip, which costs $4,000 U.S., in a club auction.
The couple described the hunt in Camp Talk, the club's magazine. Eddie Hopkins said the guide used a snowmobile on a frozen lake to cut off a black wolf, the color he wanted to bag.
Under British Columbia's "fair chase" policy, hunters are not supposed to use bait or motorized vehicles to "herd" wolves.
Dennis Beattie, owner of Wild River, said his company obeys the policy.
"On this hunt, they were cut off from going to the bank, you drive between them and the bank, and then you do your hunting," he said. "They're not chasing these animals. That's totally against the law and it's against our rules of ethics."
Ian McAllister of Pacific Wild said that if what happened is legal the law should be changed.
"Most British Columbians would be as sickened as I am by this so-called sport," said Joe Foy of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. "That article was some kind of sick eco-porn for those that like to hurt living creatures for the fun of it."
