Why the snowy owl, an Arctic icon, must wait so long for legal protection

number of sThe number of owls flying over the Arctic tundra is declining alarmingly as the birds face threats. Yet the road to legal protection for the Raptor has been slow.

The iconic birds of the north are threatened by habitat loss as ground cover becomes thicker and prey becomes more difficult to find. The numbers are also decreasing due to collisions with vehicles, buildings and electric poles during migration.

The bird’s population is around 14,000 and is declining at a rate of more than 30 percent per decade.

It was assessed as threatened due to a “precipitous decline in its numbers”. Sid Cannings, a retired biologist who served Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

Scientific assessment of declining populations does not automatically confer legal protection. After a species is deemed threatened, researchers, federal, indigenous and local governments conduct extensive consultation on conservation efforts – a process that can last two years or more.

But the clock starts even earlier where committee scientists spend at least two years studying data to determine a species’ status, leaving the animal – in this case the snowy owl – vulnerable for years before conservation actions can take effect.

Cannings said it could take two years or more for an animal or bird in the North to be assessed at risk before it is formally listed under federal law.

“It takes so long because the government, I think, is very cautious,” He said. “They don’t want to just say, ‘Okay, boom. This is a threat,’ because of the impact it has on people.”

The federal government says consultations are ongoing

Cannings said the committee meets twice a year – in spring and late autumn – but a copy of the report is given to the federal environment minister only once a year. The ministers then take it to the cabinet, which takes the final decision.

“It takes much longer than many of us would like.”

The committee’s assessment is the first step in a multi-step process under the Species at Risk Act, Environment and Climate Change Canada spokesperson Eleni Armenakis said in an email.

He said the committee gave its assessment about the snowy owl to the environment minister on October 16.

Armenakis said the minister responded by extending the consultation deadline to 16 January to meet land claims obligations. “This consultation is ongoing.”

Arctic birds are in decline due to global threats

The snowy owl is an umbrella species and an indicator of environmental health, Cannings said, so if the bird is in trouble, other flora and fauna are also not doing well.

Snowy owls are found in the treeless Arctic tundra where they eat mostly lemmings and ducks. But they are also known to migrate long distances and are among the most nomadic birds, moving widely in search of food.

Cannings said the main threat facing the bird is the gradual change in its habitat caused by a warming world.

“Many places where it used to nest are now covered with bushes,” he said. “It’s losing all its productive lemming hunting grounds on the southern edge of the Arctic tundra. And the owls have fewer and fewer places to nest.”

Other threats faced by the snowy owl include avian fluAt least 15 cases have been reported since 2021, according to data compiled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Like them, they also get hit by vehicles go south Rodents become poisoned by escaping their homes, colliding with buildings, being electrocuted by power lines, or eating prey that has come in contact with the poison.

“There is no single smoking gun to explain what is actually causing the decline in the numbers of these birds,” Cannings said.

“Unfortunately, in this case, it’s not something like stopping hunting, or something simple… that people can either decide on their own or the government can decide to do something to help. It’s a more complex thing. This is a global threat.”

‘This connection to the far north is part of our culture’

Yukon Bird Club director Cameron Eckert said the “troubling question” about species like the snowy owl is what steps should be taken to conserve it.

Sea ice is changing rapidly and unpredictably and lemming populations naturally rise and fall in dramatic cycles, he said – both of which affect snowy owl populations in ways that are beyond human control.

He said that even as the government is working to cut greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is already having a more pronounced impact on biodiversity.

He said that the snowy owl had a Charisma that connects with people in a way many other species don’t.

“It reflects the idea of ​​a bird traveling from the high Arctic to southern Canada for the winter,” he said. “This connection to the far north is part of our culture.”