Science, Conservation, and Indigenous Rights: The Political Ecology of the George River Caribou Herd

Caribou decline in Labrador is driven by habitat degradation, climate change and industrial development. The George River caribou herd has declined by 99% to fewer than 6,000 animals since the 1990s. The provincial government has enacted a hunting moratorium to stave off extinction, but thus far the policy has only been successful in enraging local indigenous groups. Political ecology finds the connections between the social and biophysical factors that led to the near extinction of what was once the largest migratory caribou herd on Earth.