REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION 



It is, on the other hand, equally beyond question, that while the wild caribou 

 is doubtless susceptible to domestication, he will not become tame, nor will 

 the domestic reindeer remain tame, unless kept under close and effective control. 



In this connection it is worthy of note that of the reindeer handed over by 

 Dr. Grenfell in 1919 to the Department of Indian Affairs, and since maintained 

 under fence at Lobster bay, on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a 

 number have escaped, while the remainder, as a consequence of inef^cient 

 herding and lack of skilful handling, have largely reverted to a wild condition. 



Attention is drawn to the report of Mr. C. C. Parker, Inspector of Indian 

 Agencies, of date November 15, 1919, which is attached as Appendix No. VI. 



Caribou Meat — ■ 



The witnesses who appeared before the Commission were, with one exception, 

 unanimous in the opinion that the meat of the wild caribou is both nutritious and 

 palatable. 



All were agreed that in the late winter, spring and early summer, this meat 

 is neither, very appetizing nor nutritious, the animals being then thin and out of 

 condition, but they stated without hesitation that in the fall and early winter, 

 when the animals were fat after the summer's grazing, the flesh is an excellent 

 food, many claiming it is superior to beef, mutton or other domestic meats. 



Conservation — 



The evidence of various witnesses would appear to indicate the necessity 

 for increasingly stringent regulations governing the slaughter of wild caribou. 



The statements of Captain Joseph F. Bernard, of Tignish, P.E.I., after a 

 four years' voyage into Coronation gulf and the Victoria island region in his 

 schooner Teddy Bear, as taken by Dr. R. M. Anderson, and forming part of the 

 submissions of the latter (see Appendix No. IX), is very valuable as showing 

 the tremendous and often unnecessary slaughter of caribou by natives at dift'erent 

 points on the Arctic coast. 



Captain Bernard states that if the slaughter which has taken place in the 

 last four years, since the natives have been armed with rifles as a result of the 

 establishment of trading posts on Coronation gulf, continues, there will be no 

 caribou left in that region within ten years. 



The Reverend W. H. Fry, Anglican Missionary in the north for ten years, 

 six of which were spent on the Arctic coast, was strongly of the opinion that 

 something should be done to regulate the killing of the wild caribou. He states 

 that every spring, just before the young are born, large numbers of caribou are 

 slaughtered by the Esquimaux. Much of this slaughter takes place on the 

 tundra between Herschel island and the mountains which run obliquely to the 

 coast, this being the breeding ground of the caribou in that region. 



Most of the animals killed are pregnant females, as the bucks do not accom- 

 pany the spring migration in any numbers. 



Mr. Fry states that there is no necessity for the killing of these caribou, 

 as there is plenty of other food available at that season of the year. He is of 

 opinion that if the Government were to forbid the spring shooting of female 

 caribou, the Esquimaux would take it in good part, as the wiser men among 

 them realize that it is foolish and speak of it in that sense. 



There is no doubt that not only the Esquimaux and the Indian, but many 

 white men as well, are in the habit of killing caribou in large numbers and at all 

 seasons of the year, without regard to the first principles of wild life conservation. 



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