Alberta's Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen has made changes to hunting and trapping regulations that threaten our wildlife. His decisions heavily favour the hunters, trappers and outfitters — a group the minister closely associates with — at the expense of all Albertans.

These decisions include:

• More than doubling of female cougar quotas.
• Adding six additional Cougar Management Areas and setting quotas in these new areas to non-zero numbers.
• Expanding the Minister’s Special Licence species and seasons, particularly for at-risk species like mountain goats.
• Allowing public hunting of “problem” grizzly bears, a Threatened species.
• Lifting quotas on sensitive furbearing species like wolverines, fishers, Canada lynx and river otters.

His decisions contradict the advice of biologists and violate the government’s own sustainable wildlife management plans. He has failed to provide evidence that supports his claims and justifies these decisions, and he has ignored the letters of thousands of Albertans who oppose these changes.

We demand answers. We demand these decisions are rescinded, before we lose many of our wild species. The minister must be held accountable for his actions.  

For more information: https://albertawilderness.ca/open-letter-to-alberta-minister-of-forestry-and-parks-public-call-to-rescind-recent-detrimental-wildlife-management-decisions/