Action needed to reverse Canada’s wildlife decline, conservationists say
MONTREAL — Canada may be known for its wide-open spaces and wildlife, but the federal and provincial governments need to dramatically increase their efforts if they’re to save the country’s endangered species, conservationists say.
A World Wildlife Fund report last month created alarm with its finding that global wildlife populations dropped 60 per cent over the last 40 years, and recent data shows the situation in Canada is not a lot better.
A WWF report last year found that Canadian mammal populations dropped by 43 per cent, amphibian and reptile populations by 34 per cent and fish populations by 20 per cent over a similar time period. Some types of birds have lost between 43 and 69 per cent of their populations.
Populations of species listed under the federal Species at Risk Act, or SARA, declined by an average of 28 per cent since the legislation was enacted in 2002.