ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador is calling for Quebec Innu to withdraw from a closed hunting zone in Labrador that is home to the endangered Red Wine caribou herd.
The provincial Natural Resources Department said Sunday that 100 to 150 Innu hunters are camped in an area populated by the George River caribou herd.
The area is closed to hunting because it is also the core range of the threatened Red Wine herd.
Attorney general Felix Collins said the province is asking the Quebec Innu leadership "to put conservation practices first instead of risking killing the last of the Red Wine caribou to make a political point."
He called on the Innu to sit down with the province and discuss the issue.
The protected Red Wine herd is intermingled with the George River animals and the two herds are not visually distinct.
"It will be truly devastating if this action by the Quebec Innu wipes out this protected woodland herd," Collins said in a release.
"But those most negatively impacted by this blatant disregard for conservation principles will be future generations, for whom the red wine caribou will exist as nothing more than a picture in a history book."
Conservation officers reported Sunday that some animals had been killed, but they didn't know which herd they were from.
The province said the hunting was being monitored and charges would be laid "where warranted and when safe to do so, in the event of illegal activities."
