Canadian Eskimos to Receive Compensation for Police Actions That Killed Sled Dogs for Years (3 photos + 1 video)
Ottawa apologized and acknowledged the fact of criminal actions by local police against dogs of the Inuit tribe. Now the authorities will pay compensation to the tribe, promise to start a program to reclaim the sled tradition and will engage in breeding this breed of four-legged animals. 
Local Canadian authorities have acknowledged the fact of mass killings of Inuit sled dogs in the 1950-1960s and have pledged to pay compensation in the amount of 45 million Canadian dollars (about $32 million).
The media writes that the local police killed all unattached dogs. At that time, law enforcement officers motivated this by security issues, because at that time in the Nunavik region, the construction of schools for the indigenous people of the Canadian North was ongoing. 
According to the local regulation on dogs, which existed since 1929, dogs were prohibited from running freely in certain areas, and the police had the right to seize stray animals and kill them if their owners did not contact them. If before 1966, owners could be warned about such actions, and local indigenous people could pay a fine for releasing four-legged animals, then after dogs that posed a threat could be killed without warning. 
Journalists point out that the locals were very unhappy with the government's actions, which they considered attempts at forced assimilation and imposition of a sedentary lifestyle. Inuit tribes have always used dogs for a number of purposes - from transportation in a sled to hunting and fishing. Due to the aggressive policy of extermination of dogs, the locals were cut off from the opportunity to live on their lands and were forced to settle in permanent settlements.
"The federal government takes responsibility for its role in the killing of dogs. During the 1950s and 1960s, federal officials knew that dog slaughter was happening and allowed it to continue, recognizing that Inuit depended on dogs for their livelihood, health, and well-being," said Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
The media points out that back in 2010, former Quebec Superior Court Judge Jean-Jacques Croteau published a report on police actions to kill dogs. The text of the document states that law enforcement officers killed at least 1,000 dogs in Nunavik "without understanding their importance to Inuit families." Kroto himself also found that the Canadian government did nothing to intervene in this process and did not condemn the behavior of local cops, and did not inform about the risks of vaccination for dogs, because according to locals, many four-legged ones could die from complications.
Now the federal government has fully admitted its guilt in inadequate supervision of the Inuit dog issue. Therefore, Canadian authorities have officially apologized to local indigenous people for their actions and promised to pay compensation. All funds will go to the reclamation of dog sled management and "everything necessary" for this - from training and food to fencing to protect the dogs.
