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Finding hope in a tragedy MARYANNE MCGRATH GIVES PERSONAL REFLECTION ON FORT MCMURRAY FIRES BY MARYANNE MCGRATH SPECIAL TO THE ADVOCATE
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The hard-hitting documentary Unnatural Enemies: The War on Wolves recently captured the Genesis Award for International TV Documentary from the Humane Society of the United States.
New doc puts spotlight on wolf killings in Alberta BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF The inhumane and indiscriminate poisoning, snaring and shooting of thousands of Alberta wolves could soon be judged by a global audience, says local conservationist Anna-Marie Ferguson. A hard-hitting documentary about the cruel treatment of wolves in this province won a prestigious international award. Unnatural Enemies: The War on Wolves, directed by Geordie Day, received the Genesis Award for International TV Documentary from the Humane Society of the United States. This elevates the 60-minute film made by Calgary’s Pyramid Productions Inc. for CTV into distinguished company. Other documentaries that won a Genesis Award include the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, about the Japanese dolphin hunt; the Oscar-nominated film Virunga, about efforts to protect a wildlife park in Congo; and Blackfish, which helped change the practice of aquariums keeping captive orcas. Red Deer resident Ferguson hopes the award will draw the world’s attention to Unnatural Enemies and Alberta’s callous wolf killings. As author of the public awareness booklet, Alberta’s Wild Wolves: A Call from the Wild, Ferguson is interviewed in the documentary — along with hunters, trappers, rangers, environmentalists, biologist and animal activists. Also interviewed is Dwight Rodtka, a retired provincial wildlife officer from Rocky Mountain House who spent 39 years as a problem animals specialist. (The narrator is conservationist and author Kevin Van Tighem, a former Banff National Park superintendent.) Both Ferguson and Rodtka express dismay in the film about how an unknown multitude of wolves are being killed in horrible ways, including slow suffocation in snares and spasmodic agony and asphyxiation by strychnine poisoning. There’s very little difference between the way Alberta treats wolves and the way it treats rats, says Rodtka. “They can be shot 12 months of the year
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… It’s (incredible) how little respect we have for wolves.” He believes part of the problem is a historic prejudice against a top carnivore that hunts in packs and tracks its prey. But studies indicate wolves are highly social beings, and much more intelligent than domestic dogs. A trapper recounts in the documentary how a tracked she-wolf, who studied his movements, crawled on her belly so as not to leave paw prints in the snow. Wolves are attentive parents and make strong emotional bonds within family groupings, said Ferguson. Stories are recounted about wolves sticking around to support one of their number who’s caught in a snare. Wolves have also been known to mourn a dead pack member. Many of Alberta’s wolf killings — including those shot from planes and poisoned by carcasses left in the forest — are linked to government efforts to keep a small caribou herd thriving in the Little Smoky area, near Valleyview. More than 1,000 wolves were killed in the region over nine years. As well, 700 other animals died from eating the poisoned wolf bait. The killings continue, even though a government report concluded it’s not helping expand the caribou herd that’s lost habitat to energy activities in the area, and that new wolves are just moving in to fill the imbalance between predators and prey. A government spokesman in the film restates that the caribou are endangered and must be protected. But Ferguson is critical of the fact Alberta has no annual limit on how many wolves are killed. She discovered the death toll is mounting because of bounties set by groups that seek to preserve trophy animals, such as big-horned sheep, for hunters. Rodtka said there’s no end to hunting season for wolves on private land. He knows of wolf pups that have been left to starve in their den after mother wolves are killed. Some of the wolf slaughter is reportedly linked to livestock kills.
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When I was in elementary school, I distinctly remember getting excited whenever I saw the name “Fort McMurray “scroll across the ticker on the nightly news. I would cheer when the reporter on the Weather Network eventually got around to reporting on Fort McMurray’s weather conditions. It excited me to see somebody talk about my city, even if it was just for a 30-second weather update before moving to a much more interesting area, such as Edmonton or Calgary. I would get even more excited when I saw my father on the news, as my childhood was littered with memories of being on the campaign trail MARYANNE MCGRATH with him; initially for a seat as a Fort McMurray Catholic School Board trustee, and eventually for a seat as a Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Councilor. I grew up knowing my dad was trying to dispel the notion that my town was viewed by others as insignificant, its citizens being seen as glutinous and materialistic, — the misconception that Fort McMurray was an oil town and nothing more. Now, my hometown is everywhere. News outlets across the country, across the continent, and overseas are reporting on the city I spent the first 17 years of More Fort McMurray my life in. I heard my dad’s stories on Pages voice on the radio on TuesA2,A3,A5 day, as he welcomed his fellow citizens to one of the evacuation centers in Edmonton. I’m finding it somewhat ironic that I now want nothing more than for the news coverage to stop; It would suit me just fine if the only media coverage we got was a 30 second clip on the local weather. There is something utterly surreal in the constant barrage of footage I’ve seen over the past week. It’s hard to explain to people why I choke up when strangers mention Fort McMurray in passing conversations, or explain why I hide from the stares I receive from strangers in waiting rooms as I tear up from seeing glimpses of my tarnished hometown displayed on TV screens. At the same time, I can’t entirely criticize myself for being hesitant to speak up regarding my discomfort; how am I supposed to articulate the feeling I got when my sister called to say her summer workplace had caught fire? How could I expect to convey the pit in my stomach that grew on May 3rd, when the calls for evacuation were made, and the first images of my ravaged city were released? I have never felt the distinct terror that I felt upon realizing that my mother was driving down hwy 63, blocked on both sides by walls of fire. I will also never forget the helplessness I felt at seeing the efforts of the fire crews be devoured by the determination of the fire. As someone who had volunteered in relief efforts during the 2013 flooding, it was painful to be completely unable to do anything but watch the evacuation and the devastation unfold.
LOTTERIES SATURDAY 6/49: 6, 8, 25, 31, 32, 33, bonus: 1 Western 6/49: 7, 9, 18, 35, 38, 46, bonus: 44 SUNDAY Pick 3: 312 Extra: 6677816 Numbers are unofficial.
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