Renewable resource officers in the North Slave region are asking for help from residents in an investigation into the potential illegal harvesting of 16 caribou on the shores of Fletcher Lake.
The remains of several caribou, including “gut piles, heads and hides” were identified on the shores of the lake north of Lutsel K’e on March 13, according to a statement from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The remains were found in the Mobile Core Bathurst Caribou Management Zone, an area in which caribou hunting is outlawed in order to protect the vulnerable Bathurst caribou herd.
This is the fourth investigation into illegal harvesting in the mobile management zone since the beginning of the year.
The Bathurst caribou herd population remains critically low, with numbers having decreased from 30,000 in 2012 to 6,200 in 2021.
According to the Tłı̨chǫ Government’s director of culture and lands protection, 143 caribou were illegally harvested last year in the North Slave region.
Residents with information about the potentially illegal harvest are encouraged to contact the North Slave regional wildlife officer at 867-873-7181.