INFOGRAPHICS
Often, a picture can be worth a thousand words. We create, and make available, infographics to tell complex stories quickly and effectively.
INFOGRAPHICS
Often, a picture can be worth a thousand words. We create, and make available, infographics to tell complex stories quickly and effectively.
Photos show government-contracted wolf killers displaying carcasses like trophies
ONLINE COMMENT FORM
Ban 2 cruel poisons killing Canada's wildlife:
Compound 1080 and Strychnine
In Canada, long-outdated policies continue to allow the use of two reckless and violent poisons to kill wildlife. They are inhumane, with symptoms being extremely painful and prolonged before death. Indiscriminate killers, they have claimed the lives of people and pets in addition to wildlife.
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they cause wildlife to suffer greatly before dying
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they pose a serious threat to species at risk, pets and people
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they are not effective at reducing livestock losses to wild predators or protecting at-risk caribou from ultimate reasons of decline
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there are effective, non-lethal alternatives
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they are transported across provinces and used in restricted areas
Some support points for your letter:
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Published research that shows strychnine baits laid for wolves in Little Smoky caribou range in Alberta killed more non-target animals than wolves. Indeed, more non-target wildlife died than the number of caribou in the herd the government is supposedly trying to protect.
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These poisons have been banned in many places including Brazil, Belize, Cuba, Slovenia, Thailand, Laos, China, South Africa, and several US states.
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Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide have similar impacts on non-target wildlife, and pose similar risks to people and pets.
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According to the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC 2003), a killing method is humane if it causes rapid (immediate) unconsciousness and subsequent death without pain or distress. Death by strychnine ingestion is inhumane, as it causes frequent periods of tetanic seizures, occasional cessation of breathing, hyperthermia, extreme suffering, and death from exhaustion or asphyxiation, which typically occurs within 1–2 hours of the onset of clinical signs.
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Death can take up to 24 hours or longer if the dose is low.
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The use of strychnine to kill wolves is in contravention of CCAC guidelines (CCAC 2003), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA 2013), the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (2014), and the American Society of Mammalogists.
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Wolf kill programs are unacceptable as a wildlife management tool for both ethical and ecological reasons. I urge you to remove wolf killing from the toolbox of options as new recovery plans are developed for caribou.
Decision-makers your letter is being sent to:
Federal Government:
Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Health
Dr. Richard Aucoin
Executive Director
Pesticide Management and Regulatory Agency
Alberta:
Honourable Jason Kenney
Premier of Alberta
Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks, Alberta
Saskatchewan
Honourable Scott Moe
Premier of Saskatchewan
Dustin Duncan, Minister of Environment, Saskatchewan
Bob Wynes, Executive Director, Forest Service at Government of Saskatchewan
Brant Kirychuk, Executive Director, Fish, Wildlife and Lands Branch
Lin Gallagher, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment
Wes Kotyk, Assistant Deputy Minister
Environmental Protection Division, Ministry of Environment
IMPORTANT NOTE!
Identical letters to the government are counted as a single voice. You can easily personalize your comment by adding in your own introduction and closing to the comment form to make it unique.
An individually written letter can have a HUGE impact on government officials.
Many voices makes it more difficult for governments to adopt a standard response.)