Quebecers willing to pay $55 a year to protect caribou: survey

Quebecers would be willing to pay an average of $55 per person annually to protect woodland caribou populations over a 20-year period, according to a study by the Canada Research Chair in Ecological Economics at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.

"Our study reiterates that the woodland caribou is a highly valued species and that the population is ready to support conservation actions," said professor and research chair Jérôme Dupras.

The scientists questioned 863 people as part of the study.

The vast majority of respondents (90) said they would favour much more effort to protect the population.

Only 2 per cent of those surveyed reported that they wanted less support, and 8 per cent of respondents said they would like no change.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 26, 2023.

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  A caribou grazes on Baffin Island in a 2008 file photo. A new survey found that most Quebecers would be comfortable with paying $55 per year to save the threatened species. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kike Calvo via AP Images