Tourists and locals visiting downtown Victoria at the start of the long weekend may have found themselves in a different kind of tourist shop – one meant to turn heads and spark outrage.
'Brutal British Columbia', hosted by environmental activist organization Pacific Wild, ran one day only on Friday, Aug. 1, at 633 Courtney St. Its purpose was to draw attention to the controversial B.C. wolf cull, now entering its second decade.
Throughout the day, the shop sold merchandise, including shirts depicting wolves with bullet holes mid-forehead, in addition to engaging curious passersby in discussion and encouraging people to fill out a postcard to send to the government.
Pacific Wild project director Natasha Wehn said they were "really surprised" by the turnout.
"We've seen an incredible response of people coming in and being really passionate about the issue," Wehn said. "We weren't sure if anyone would want to buy the souvenirs because they're so brutal once they see them."
The organization had some "great conversations" with people who popped in, even including a lawyer who worked on one of their legal actions, she said. "So we got to learn as well."
Since the B.C. government began the cull in 2015 as a response to threatened caribou herds, over 2,500 wolves have been killed.
Caribou populations, on the other hand, have increased by 16.7 per cent between 2017 and 2023 as part of its Caribou Recovery Program, the B.C. government noted.
Some who entered the pop-up shop felt conflicted over the cull, such as resident Mel Wright, who said he was "mixed' when asked how he feels about the measurement being used to protect endangered caribou.
While he expressed criticism of the government's handling of deer culling on Sidney Island, and the cost it ended up being per deer, he was not completely against killing other species to protect another.
"There has to be a balance, I would think. I can't say more than that because I'm not educated enough."
The B.C. government argues that the wolf cull has helped to stabilize or increase populations in "15 of B.C.'s 54 caribou herds." Pacific Wild, on the other hand, calls it a 'smokescreen' for habitat loss and lambastes the ethics of the cull, which can involve the eradication of entire wolf packs.
Pacific Wild also notes that nearly 60 per cent of respondents to a 2022 B.C. government survey opposed the wolf cull as a measure to protect caribou.
The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship told Victoria News that "high levels of habitat alteration have resulted in a predator/prey imbalance in threatened caribou herd ranges" and that the decision to "reduce predator populations is not taken lightly."
Habitat protection is a "priority" for caribou recovery in B.C., and new protections are being investigated through planning processes occurring throughout the province for caribou and land use, it said.
Additionally, the ministry added, recent forestry law changes give local authorities more flexibility to manage forests proactively.
In the last five years, the ministry has implemented several protection measures, including establishing a Wildlife Habitat Area in the Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou range and increasing the amount of habitat protection in the Klinse-Za caribou range by 168,000 hectares to approximately 200,000 hectares total.
The ministry added that a review of the current predator reduction program will begin this summer and conclude in early 2026.
Wehn, on the other hand, argues that the wolf cull risks "damaging" B.C.'s reputation.
"We’re not asking anyone to turn away from B.C.—we’re asking them to speak up for it. Because what’s at stake is too important to ignore."
