A man charged with multiple offences for shooting two wolves near residences in the Whitehorse Copper subdivision admits to the act but says he was in the right.

Following a brief territorial court appearance this morning, Clayton Thomas, 32, cited the danger the predator posed and the supposed inaction of government officials.

"I had those wolf tracks right at the front of my house. And I had a wife with a brand new, eight-week-old baby boy.” he told the Star.

"I just can't believe that people don't feel that a hungry wolf is a threat in a residential area.”

Several wolves were seen in the Mount Sima neighbourhood this past spring. Numerous members of the community, including Thomas, had called Environment Yukon with concerns, he noted.

Thomas said the strongest response came in the form of a suggestion to one of his neighbours to drape a jacket over a shovel in the driveway and urinate around it to ward off would-be prowlers.

In April, the remains of a dog were found following a wolf attack, the second such incident.

"When they kill dogs, they don't stop. They have the taste for them. Dogs are easy,” he said.

Thomas had been living in the area for five years without hearing of a wolf sighting. Now there was ample evidence.

That month, Thomas shot one wolf near the site where the dog had been killed. One week later, he shot the other one at the same spot.

"I safely took care of those wolves. There was a backstop, a big bank,” he said.

Thomas, a general construction contractor and lifelong Yukoner who grew up in Teslin, is an experienced hunter and trapper, he said.

In early May, four conservation officers showed up at his door with a search warrant.

They seized 47 items, including his phones, computer, and his wife's phone and computer.

All his rifles were seized, along with five wolf pelts in his shop from wolves he trapped last winter, 10 marten furs and four wolverine pelts.

"I'm still in awe. I can't stop questioning how the government feels they were entitled and warranted to come through my house,” Thomas said.

"I'm not a murderer, I'm not a drug dealer, I'm not a child pornographer. But I get treated like all three above.”

Thomas said he understands the conservation officers "were just doing their jobs,” but sees the extensive effort and money put into the case as an example of bureaucracy run amuck.

"Twenty years ago, we didn't rely on the government to take care of us like that. Why can't we take care of ourselves now?” he asked.

Thomas also cited the big expense of hiring a lawyer, one he hasn't undertaken yet but plans to.

"It turned my life upside down.”

Thomas has been charged with nine violations of the Wildlife Act, including hunting near a residence, hunting out of season and careless use of a firearm.

Killing of animals is tightly regulated in residential areas. It is illegal to hunt within one kilometre of a residence without the permission of the occupants.

"One of the factors is, is the wolf posing a threat to anybody,” said Environment Yukon spokeswoman Nancy Campbell.

"If a wolf is simply walking by a property, it may not be posing a threat to anyone. Whether a wolf poses a threat or not — and the options for responding — are set out in the guidelines..."

Campbell pointed to rules set out on the Environment Yukon website.

"While prevention is the best way to avoid human-wildlife conflict, we recognize that sometimes incidents are unavoidable. The Wildlife Act does allow you to kill wildlife in self-defense and, in some cases, in defense of property," the site states.

"Killing of wildlife for these reasons seldom happens in Yukon, however.”

Thomas was skeptical, particularly at the supposed unresponsiveness of officials to pre-empt predator run-ins — though not in prosecuting violations after they occurred.

"How am I supposed to protect myself, just sit there and wait for the wolf to come?”

Thomas is due in court again Jan. 14, 2014.