Cost of Wildlife to Producers Survey

Post date: Nov 27, 2013 10:59:51 PM

The Miistakis Institute is moving ahead with this project to better understand the economic impacts of wildlife to Alberta beef producers.  The Institute is presently developing the survey tool and collecting names, addresses and email address for collection of data.  This should be well underway during the first part of December.  

Alberta is the largest beef producing province in Canada. There are 26,500 farms supporting over 5.5 million cattle sharing the landscape with native wildlife species. Wildlife species are an important component of our natural landscapes, providing recreation and hunting opportunities for Albertans. For a beef producer, coexisting with wildlife often results in economic impacts: animal or feed loss, property damage or loss, as well as the costs of prevention and management activities. Ignoring these concerns can result in reduced tolerance toward wildlife, and in some cases leads to persecution of specific species.  

How do we support this important industry in Alberta while maintaining healthy wildlife populations?  The purpose of this project is For healthy wildlife populations to co-exist on private lands in Alberta, it is important to understand the economic burden faced by beef producers. If beef producers are doing well, and we are addressing wildlife and cattle concerns  then it is assumed the tolerance of wildlife will be higher.  

If you have any questions about this or if you know of any producers who might be interested in participating,  Kim Good at the Miistakis Institute can be contacted. 

kim@rockies.ca   or telephone her at (403) 440-8444.