Les inuits du Québec défendent leurs chasseurs de caribous

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Il s'agit de caribous en voie d'extinction. Ils ont aussi fait la même chose l'an dernier: ils ont poursuivi ces animaux à bord de motoneiges pour les abattre. Ils ne sont pas mieux que les chasseurs blancs

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Hunters may face charges, says NL government

Chiefs representing Innu communities in northeastern Quebec are
defending the actions of hunters who killed animals near a protected
caribou herd in Labrador last week.

Quebec hunters say the slaughter was to protest their exclusion from a
deal that will compensate Labrador Innu for the proposed Lower
Churchill hydroelectric megaproject.

In all, 250 caribou were killed and will be used for food supplies for
the communities, the chiefs said in a statement released Monday.

The expedition "was successful and also a great victory," said Georges-
Ernest Grégoire, chief of Uashat Mak Mani Utenam. He said the kill had
raised the attention of the Newfoundland and Labrador government.

"For thousands of years, we have practised the caribou hunt on a
territory we call Nitassinan," said Réal McKenzie, chief of Matimekush-
Lac-John. "No border drawn up by Euro-Canadians, upon their arrival
four centuries ago, can limit Nitassinan and the inherent rights of
its people."

Charges may be laid

Newfoundland and Labrador's justice minister said Monday he expects
charges to be laid against the Quebec Innu hunters.

"We certainly do," Felix Collins told CBC News. "We certainly hope
that the evidence will be sufficient to lay charges."

Quebec Innu hunters sparked a furor last week when they pursued
caribou near the protected Red Wine herd, which the Newfoundland and
Labrador government believes has just 100 animals.

Collins said the government does not know how many animals were killed
in last week's hunt, but "we're assuming it's anywhere from 150 to 200."

The zone where the hunt took place is closed to hunting in order to
protect the Red Wine herd.

Collins admitted that it might be difficult to press charges against
individual hunters. Conservation officers were kept from the scene
last week, largely for safety reasons, and much of the evidence will
be based on video surveillance from the air.

"When you put 200 people in there in a volatile situation, a highly
charged situation, then the decision of government is not to put our
people in harm's way," Collins told CBC News.

"Evidence taken from surveillance cameras presents some challenges
because you have to identify a shooter with a dead animal on the
ground, and given the angles of the cameras and the lighting and the
clothing and distinguishing one individual from the other and what
not, it takes quite a challenge to do that."

Collins said no evidence was seized at the scene.

Threat to animals downplayed

The Innu chiefs disputed the idea that hunting by their community
members could endanger the caribou.

"It is not the caribou herd that is on the verge of extinction, but
rather the Innu Nation that must fight against assimilation and
extinction policies. For us, exercising our rights is a matter of
survival," said Jean-Charles Piétacho, Chief of Ekuanitshit.

Innu hunters prioritize the respect of the animal and elders used last
week’s expedition to pass on those skills to the younger generation,
the chiefs said in the statement.

"Our action was not directed against our brothers and sisters of the
Innu in Labrador, but against governments that refuse to recognize our
rights and impose fictitious boundaries," said Raphaël Picard, chief
of Pessamit.

http://tinyurl.com/yfnlhjt

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Citation :

ils ont poursuivi ces animaux à bord de motoneiges pour les abattre. Ils ne sont pas mieux que les chasseurs blancs

Je n'en doute pas. Ce sont des histoires, leur prétendu respect de la Nature.