Tłı̨chǫ Government proposes pausing winter caribou hunts to allow herds to recover

Following the “alarming” news of continued decline in two caribou herds, Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty hopes to put a pause on winter hunts.

The latest population surveys estimate the Bluenose-East herd at 28,759 animals. That’s down from the 39,525 counted in 2023. 

The Bathurst herd continues to plummet — down to 3,609 animals, a 47 per cent decline from 2022. In the 1980s, there were more than 470,000 Bathurst caribou.

“Obviously this continued decline is very, very alarming given all the sacrifices that the Tłı̨chǫ people have made,” said Lafferty.

Since 2015, there has been a moratorium on any harvesting of the Bathurst herd, controlled through a Mobile Core Bathurst Caribou Conservation Area.

The Tłı̨chǫ Government hopes to introduce several new measures in addition to ongoing efforts to protect the herds. Among them would be a five-year pause on winter hunting starting in 2027.

Lafferty argues that winter roads make it easier for hunters to reach the caribou and harvest more than they can in the fall.

“With the fall hunt, you go there by plane, you carry a load of what you kill back to the plane, maybe maximum two or three caribou, whatever you can carry,” explains Lafferty.

“As opposed to going out on a vehicle or on a snowmobile, killing up to 10 to 15 caribou per trip — so it's a huge difference,” he says.

The Tłı̨chǫ Government is also looking at suggesting a three-kilometre-wide “voluntary no-shooting corridor” along the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road.

Lafferty says he intends to bring these ideas forward to other Indigenous governments through upcoming Council of Leaders meetings.

In the meantime, he also recognizes there still needs to be more education and awareness within communities on sustainable and respectful harvesting practices.

“For generations we've relied on caribou for food and clothing,” says Lafferty. “Caribou has been central part of our lives, our culture and our way of life.”

Allicia Kelly, a biologist with the N.W.T. government, says there are several factors that could be contributing to the herds’ decline, including movement between herds.