Wolf bounties became something of a cause célèbre last year when it came out that, as Alaska governor, Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin had offered hunters $150 per kill. American actress Ashley Judd kept the issue alive into the new year, releasing a video calling upon Palin to “stop this senseless savagery.”

Judd’s pitch triggered what the press pounced on as a “cat fight,” the kind of celebrity row that can cloud an issue. In fact, wolves and people are increasingly encroaching upon each other’s territories, and the implications for both sides are serious. This winter, a pack in Bradore, Que., not far from Labrador, has residents cowering indoors, with one woman recently describing how wolves devoured one of her Siberian huskies.

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