Wildlife Act – Protection for Particular Species

 

The Wildlife Act can be used to provide some protection to particular species of wildlife.  This is not to say that it is a comprehensive code -- environmentalists have been critical of the Act which has not provided effective protection to endangered species or wildlife generally.  However, the Act may be useful in particular circumstances. 

 

Endangered Species

 

The Wildlife Act is B.C.’s only legislation dealing specifically with endangered species.  Section 6 of the Act provides that the provincial cabinet can designate a species as “endangered” if as a result of the action of humans it is threatened with imminent extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.  A species may be designated as “threatened” if it is likely to become endangered if factors affecting its vulnerability are not reversed.

 

Despite these available provisions for protecting species, only four species have ever been designated in BC:  the Vancouver Island marmot, the American white pelican, the sea otter and burrowing owl.  These four species were all designated in 1980 and no other species has been designated since – a reflection of the fact that species designation is discretionary, not mandatory.

 

The designation does prohibit the hunting of endangered or threatened species.  However, the habitat of endangered species is not automatically protected – instead the Minister may create a wildlife management area and/or a critical wildlife area to protect the habitat. 

 

Other Species Protection

 

The Act establishes a number of prohibitions designed to protect wildlife and particular species.  In addition to specific restrictions on hunting and trapping, there are a number of important prohibitions:

 

·          Damaging a muskrat or beaver house or den, or a beaver dam; (section 9)

·          Possessing, taking, injuring, molesting or destroying a bird or its egg, or a nest that currently has an egg in it; (section 34)

·          Possessing or damaging the nest of an eagle, peregrine falcon, gyrfalcon, osprey, heron or burrowing owl, whether or not it has an egg in it; (section 34)

·          Feeding or attempting to feed a bear, cougar, coyote or wolf, or other species of wildlife prescribed as a dangerous wildlife; (section 33.1)

However, the Act has a number of shortcomings with respect to species protection:

 

·          Only game animals, raptors and any other vertebrate species designated by regulation are considered “wildlife” within the meaning of the Act; fish species are not eligible for designation as an endangered or threatened wildlife species.

·          Endangered or threatened species designation does not automatically result in the protection of endangered or threatened species habitat; instead, Critical Wildlife Areas within Wildlife Management Areas must be designated (and so far only one has ever been designated).

·          It is not mandatory to prepare and implement recovery plans for endangered or threatened species.

Aside from the Wildlife Act, the Forest Practices Code provides for an Identified Wildlife Management Strategy designed to provide some protection for identified wildlife from the impacts of forestry activity.  However, the effectiveness of this Strategy is undermined by the fact that a political directive has been issued stipulating that the timber supply cannot be reduced by more than 1% in order to protect wildlife.

Related Guide pages:

 

·          Wildlife Act

 

·          Designations under Forest Practices Code

 

·          Species at Risk Act

For more information on Protection for Particular Species:

 

·          BC Endangered Species Coalition.

 

·          BC Conservation Data Centre