Attention ERO, I am writing…

Attention ERO,

I am writing to let you know that changing the ESA and the current proposal for the SCA are not acceptable. Please consider the following logical reasons to protect wolves and other animals:

1. Politicians should not replace the committee of scientists who dictate legal listing and protection decisions. Clearly, you are against wolves and have not indicated any options to coexist. Upsetting the balance of predators and prey always results in undesirable consequences.

2. Recovery documents, government response statements and progress reports are safeguards to know whether the province is conserving species at risk or letting them die off. There is no logical reason to get rid of these guiding documents. By getting rid of these documents, it certainly seems like there is information to be hidden.

3. The existing habitat definition should stand and be made more explicit. Wildlife needs a variety of habitats for different reasons, all of these are critical to an imperilled population's survival. Without habitat, species cannot persist.

4. Currently, the registration system for those seeking to destroy species at risk or their habitat is useless. Please maintain the permit system and require all people and companies to apply for specific permits in order to be allowed to conduct activities that imperil at-risk species. Again, without a permit system, it looks like the government is trying to hide information.

5. If you remove "harass" from protection language, it will place species at risk. This is especially important for scapegoated and vilified species such as eastern wolves. Harassing wildlife can cause death and reduced reproduction in the species. These species are already sensitive to human impacts.

With all of the concerns we need to look at in Canada at this time, making changes which do not support at-risk species, should not be a priority of the government. I suspect it is a small contingent working with the Premier to push this through. Again, the goal is coexist and find balance using scientific knowledge.

Thank you for reviewing my comments.