A. Species
Scientific name: Alces alces
Common name(s): Moose
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Least Concern
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- British Columbia
Country/Region: Canada / British Columbia
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: All 31 Game Management Zones (GMZs) comprising British Columbia Province
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1996
End Year: 2015
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed
Motivation of use: Recreational
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National external
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study, which used aerial survey data (180 density and 159 composition surveys) combined with licensed harvest to develop 4 competing statistical models to assess population dynamics based on constant parameters and temporal trends in calf:cow ratios at 6 months, juvenile survival from 6–18 months, or cow survival.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Given that a third of GMZs (Game Management Zones) had declining cow survival, particularly in remote areas of northern BC, these areas probably reflect a natural predator-prey system with minimal human influence. Thus the study proposes that pedators, especially of female (cow) moose and food supply mediate population growth rate. Population size has been in clear decline in BC since 2005, and so can only support a reduced harvest. Maintaining current harvest rates by increasing hunting effort would be unsustainable.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Economic value was not considered.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Given that a third of GMZs (Game Management Zones) had declining cow survival, particularly in remote areas of northern BC, these areas probably reflect a natural predator-prey system with minimal human influence. Thus the study proposes that pedators, especially of female (cow) moose and food supply mediate population growth rate. Population size has been in clear decline in BC since 2005, and so can only support a reduced harvest. Maintaining current harvest rates by increasing hunting effort would be unsustainable.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: No animal welfare data is presented, other than that natural mortality (predation and starvation) is the principal driver of moose (esp cow) decline.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
A system of reliably estimating First Nations harvest would benefit provincial and regional moose population modelling by providing a more complete representation of harvest statistics. And, as with most studies, increasing the number and frequency of moose density estimates and composition surveys would also provide more reliable data and population estimates.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2018-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-12-12