Nearly 63,000 Nature Canada supporters asked the federal government to take action for polar bears. You asked for these three things:
- List the polar bear in law,
- Complete the required management plan ahead of the three-year legal deadline and
- Take action on climate change to protect polar bear habitat
Today, Nature Canada supports the government’s decision to recognize the perilous condition of Canada’s Polar Bear population by listing it under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).
The listing in law officially recognises the at-risk status which the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has assigned to the polar bear since 1991. This important milestone means that, by law, a plan must be devised within three years to prevent the species from becoming endangered or threatened.
During the public comment period for the proposal to list the Polar Bear as a species of special concern, 99% of the comments received by the government supported the proposal. The vast majority of comments called for official designation under SARA and fast action on climate change.
The message was clear: listing the polar bear, coupled with action on climate change, are necessary to save one of Canada’s most iconic species.
With nearly 15,000 polar bears, Canada accounts for 60 per cent of the world's polar bear population. But dramatic changes, caused by global warming, are taking place in the Arctic that threaten the survival of this spectacular species.
Climate change is causing polar ice caps to melt, robbing the bears of the ice floes they need to hunt prey. If the Arctic ice cap continues to melt sooner and form later, Polar Bears will become too thin to reproduce and many scientists predict they will become extinct by the end of this century.
Thousands of Nature Canada supporters asked the federal government to act now before it’s too late – and much work still needs to be done to protect the Polar Bear.
Nature Canada urges the federal government to take fast action on climate change to prevent the extinction of this spectacular species, and strongly recommends that a management plan – mandated by law – be completed in advance of the three-year deadline.
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6 comments:
Monica.
It's about time the Polar bear finds recognition under SARA. These animals are indeed an iconic part of our culture as Canadians.
I recently read an article that spoke of the recent addition of the Polar bear to the endangered species list. Unfortunately there is room for many more species on that list.
I fear it's already too late, and in order to save the species we'll have to start feeding them. I know that's problematic, but it's preferable to watching them eat each other and die out, horribly.
Surely one thing that should stop is the hunting of polar bears by wealthy people using the guidance and right of native people to hunt them.
I do not know what can be done about global warming now that the Canadian Government no longer supports any action through the Kyoto agreement.
Kenneth
Dear Nature Canada:
Would you please give me some idea who was given a chance to comment. The Americans already have the listing of threatened and are working on endangered. Will we do this as well due to the fact that that this "Sea Bear" is our Icon to the Arcic. If we are finally moving to protect the Beautiful Mammal why do we still allow Trophy Hunting. Some people call this subsistence hunting but instead of a dog sled, a spear or bow and arrow there is a motorized Ski Doo, a high powered rifle with a telescope and binoculars? Also we use "Traditional Knowledge to help derive Quotas each year when the methodology between all the Innuit and F. Nations will probably mean a heavy variance in annual data.What variables will be kept constant over the three years so annual comparisons can be made? Soft numbers do not give you the reliability that hard numbers do. Who is going to pull together a Plan and what are their credentials? Are they great Polar Bear Scientists such as Dr. Stirling who just published his new definive work on Polar Bears and who will write the Recommendation? Will it be the Scientists or the Politicians? Plan Members should be chosen right away and work together in and out of field to prepare a solid base of hard data to derived into HOeffects and finally a workable Plan. Open houses help. Put study in a hard cover book with names of lots of helpers. Unity very important. Make book in English,French and Cree or other tongues.As Cert,Wild.Biol.-be involved.
Rob Evans,B.Sc.,M.Sc., Nov. 29,2011.
Elora.
I am a young girl in school and I am trying to save all the animals in the world from being endangered. My favorite animal is the Polar Bear, I love them so much and I don't want them to go extinct. I just hope they don't, I'm going to do everything I can to stop horrible climate changes.
As sad as it is, I believe we may have to start feeding the polar bears ourselves. And if we can somehow show people how it will negatively affect their lives if the polar bear becomes extinct, this would also be great to do. Somehow we have to connect the polar bear's existence to ours in order to get the message across to people that they are a vital part of the environment, TO EVERYONE! Thank you for taking the time to read my comment!
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