[FEL-L] B.C. to overhaul Wildlife Act

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

By Tom Fletcher 
Black Press 
Jul 07 2007 
VICTORIA - The B.C. government has extended the deadline for 
submissions to its Wildlife Act review until July 15, as it considers 
new issues such as handling exotic species and declining interest in 
hunting and fishing. 
The issue of exotic animals was highlighted in May when a caged Bengal 
tiger killed a woman on a rural game farm near 100 Mile House. The 
federal government regulates importation of animals, but once they are 
in Canada there is little control over breeding, movement and sale of 
exotic species. 
The B.C. Wildlife Act prohibits keeping and selling domestic wildlife, 
but doesn't cover imported animals. 
The B.C. government's discussion paper suggests that the minister be 
given legislative authority to regulate bringing exotic animals into 
the province, keeping them and moving them around within B.C. To allow 
for commonly kept pets such as parakeets while restricting dangerous 
animals, the paper suggests the creation of a "clean" list of species 
and a "prohibited" list. 
Environment Minister Barry Penner notes that the Wildlife Act hasn't 
been updated in 25 years. His ministry's discussion paper suggests 
establishing a licensing system for zoos, wildlife parks and 
rehabilitation centres that requires compliance with standards set by 
the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 
In response to a decline in hunting, the ministry has set a target of 
increasing the number of hunters by 20,000 over the next 10 years. The 
discussion paper suggests extending the age range for a junior licence 
to age 10-18. For both hunting and fishing, the ministry recommends 
streamlining regulations to make it easier to take up the sports. 
The consultation period was extended as submissions to the ministry 
website increased towards the end of the original three-month 
consultation. The B.C. Wildlife Federation's detailed proposals 
include giving preference to B.C. residents over non-residents in 
access to wildlife for hunting and fishing, while the Fur-Bearer 
Defenders argue that trapping is "a dying industry" and that the 
government should open up Crown land area for "non-killing 
recreational uses" such as wildlife viewing. 
Like whale-watching, land-based wildlife viewing is becoming more 
popular, with visitors and guides on extended tours in search of a 
glimpse of a spirit bear or other B.C. creature. The discussion paper 
suggests creating a surcharge on wildlife viewing services to provide 
revenue to the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund. 
The ministry has developed some standards for commercial wildlife 
viewing, but it proposes to develop management of high-value areas for 
public safety and protection of wildlife and its habitat. 
The government is also seeking new ways to control invasive species 
such as bullfrogs, which can push out indigenous species and are 
voracious predators. 
Penner hopes to have revisions to the Wildlife Act prepared for the 
spring 2008 session of the legislature. 
· See _www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlifeactreview/_ 
(http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlifeactreview/)  to post feedback on the 
ministry's discussion paper. 
_http://www.mapleridgenews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=46&cat=23&i..._ 
(http://www.mapleridgenews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=46&cat=23&id=1021633&m
ore=0)  



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