Sask. conservationists say pattern of live-baiting snowy owls for pictures endangers the birds

Sarah Bradley understands why folks love snowy owls and need to get nearer to them, however she’s involved by a social media-driven pattern that poses a risk to their survival.

Bradley, a Saskatoon-based conservationist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, says social media allows folks to simply share pictures and snowy owl places, which feeds the observe of utilizing reside bait to lure the attractive birds nearer for higher photos.

“This is something that’s happening not just in our province, but also across the country and anywhere that snowy owls are wintering,” she mentioned.

“People are drawn to them and personally I love them, so I totally understand. But it’s very easy for them to become disturbed by photographers and bird watchers.”

Bradley mentioned she’s heard of individuals utilizing reside bait, usually store-bought mice, to get the owls to return close to.

“If you are thinking about doing a snowy owl tour or joining an owl photographer, it’s important to ask the question about how photos are being obtained and whether they’re being taken ethically,” she mentioned.

Determining that a person photograph was taken utilizing bait is tough to confirm, particularly as telephoto lenses have developed, Bradley mentioned.

“One of the telltale signs is if the owl is coming head-on into the photo and very close to the photographer,” she mentioned.

“It’s a very lucky shot if you can get an owl to come in head-on to a human, which is essentially a predator to an owl.”

Newly threatened group

Snowy owls breed north of the Arctic Circle and migrate south within the winter, when they are often discovered all through a lot of Canada, extending as far south because the U.S. border.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) labeled snowy owls as “threatened” within the nation earlier this yr.

Louise Blight, co-chair of COSEWIC’s hen specialist sub-committee, mentioned the designation was primarily based on a inhabitants decline over three generations — which corresponds to round 24 years.

In that point, the snowy owl inhabitants declined by over 40 per cent, Blight mentioned. The drop was attributed primarily to altering local weather circumstances which have lowered the inhabitants of lemmings, the owls’ main meals supply.

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The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada says the snowy owl inhabitants has gone down by greater than 40 per cent in 24 years.

It’s not unlawful to bait owls in Saskatchewan, however at the least one group says that ought to change. 

“I do think there should be some bylaws,” mentioned Alysa Daku, a wildlife rehabilitator at Living Skies Wildlife Rehab in Saskatoon. “It is very difficult to enforce. I know the province’s resources are quite limited to enforce those kinds of things.”

Birds Canada, a charity devoted to hen conservation, joined the warning.

“Do not bait owls,” the group mentioned in a press release on Friday.

“The owls can become habituated to being fed by people. This disrupts their natural hunting behaviours and draws them to the roadside, which can lead to collisions with vehicles.”