Moose hunting in Cape Breton suspended for 3 years

Nova Scotia and the Mi'kmaq have temporarily suspended any moose hunting in Cape Breton due to a significant drop in the moose population.

A news release from the Department of Natural Resources said its annual hunt will pause for three years and no licence lottery will take place this year.

The Mi'kmaq have also put a moratorium on their rights-based moose harvest until the situation becomes sustainable.

Chief Leroy Denny, co-lead of natural resources with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs, said it was a difficult decision to make, but a necessary one.

"At the end of the day, we know that we have rights to hunt, but also from rights comes the responsibility, and conservation is a big thing for us as Mi'kmaq, as stewards of the land," Denny told CBC Radio's Mainstreet Nova Scotia on Friday.

The news release from the department said a recent aerial survey showed that the estimated population had dropped from about 1,500 to 835.

"We recognize the importance of the moose population to both our cultural heritage and ecosystem," Tory Rushton, minister of natural resources, said in the release. "This decision was not taken lightly, and we understand there will be disappointment.

"Suspending licences for the Cape Breton moose hunt will allow us to implement necessary conservation measures to safeguard the future of moose in Cape Breton."

The news release said hunting, disease and climate change have likely contributed to the population decline. It said the province and the Mi'kmaq are working together with local communities to develop a recovery plan.

"We are all extremely concerned with the decline in the moose population," Chief Gerald Toney, co-lead of natural resources at the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs, said in the release. "There is little debate that harvesting moose this year could completely jeopardize the population and risk recovery."

Denny said this decision was made in conjunction with harvesters, elders and the Mi'kmaq Grand Council.

He said while moose harvesting is incredibly important to the Mi'kmaq, providing meat to local communities and cultural teachings that are passed down to Mi'kmaw youth, it's the right time for the pause.

"The most important thing right now is to give the moose the chance to repopulate, that's the most important thing," he said.