Wolves must be stopped, rural Saskatchewan leaders say

A rural area in northeast Saskatchewan says it's having a problem with hungry wolves and wants the government's help.

The rural municipality of Porcupine is already paying a $250-a-wolf bounty and some wolves are being trapped, but officials say it's not enough.

No humans have been hurt, but a quick survey of area residents indicates 30 cows and more than 300 calves have been killed by wolves in the past year and a half, according to RM of Porcupine Dean Lanning.

He estimates wolf-related losses have topped $700,000.

"They're coming out of the forest fringe," Lanning said. "It's just been a breeding ground."

A wolf control proposal is one of the resolutions being discussed this week at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention in Regina.

RM reeves and councillors have been told that wolves in the area are becoming used to encroachments on their territory and are often not scared of humans or machinery.

The provincial environment ministry grants leases for people who want to trap wolves on Crown land, but some people are worried they're not being used.

They want the province to adopt a "use it or lose it" policy if wolves aren't being killed, the leases should go to someone else.

The RM is also calling on the ministry to develop its own program to control wolves on Crown land to reduce the likelihood of wolves entering nearby settled areas.