Wolf shot in N.B. may have been a pet

[Tony Cooney]

The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources is looking into the possibility that a wolf shot in the province last month might have been held in captivity, maybe even as a pet.

"We are not sure on that 100 per cent for sure, but we have DNR staff working on that,” Minister Bruce Northrup told CBC News on Wednesday.

Wolves were believed to have been hunted to extinction in the province.

But earlier this week, DNA tests confirmed the 88-pound animal shot by a hunter on the Acadian Peninsula was a mix of grey wolf and Eastern wolf, not a coyote.

The last time a wolf was reported killed in the province was in 1876, provincial wildlife officials have said.

"There are still a lot questions out there that have to be answered," said Northrup.

DNR is also investigating the possibility the wolf could have wandered into the province from northern Quebec, he said.

“We have DNR staff out in the field where the wolf was shot, questioning the people that live in that area, so we will know a lot more down the road.”

[Brandon Pickett]

See, this is a great example of what Stephen Carr was talking about. The New Brunswick Government released to the public what the animal was first, then the investigation of where it came from will come after. It is like pieces to a puzzle. This is how the processes involved in science should really work within our own government, but things do not always pan out that way according to what we have seen in the last two months. 

Plus, if we release it to the public first we may even get to know where it came from a little faster.

[kenneth Griffiths]

You never know what some nuts jobs would be doing with a wild wolf. It still looks like that we are going to be waiting for a little while yet.