For immediate release – Wednesday, August 8, 2008

Spotted Owls Captured and Caged For Breeding With No Plan to Protect Habitat

Areas Where Some Owls To Be Captured Slated For Immediate Logging

BC Government Says Logging Will Not Be Reduced For Owls

Vancouver, BC, Canada – In a dramatic turn of events, the Wilderness Committee recently learned that the BC government has begun capturing BCs last spotted owls, placing them in cages at the Langley-based Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Society, and attempting captive breeding despite no plan to protect the owls critical habitat. In fact, documents obtained by the Vancouver Sun through Freedom of Information state that timber harvesting will not be reduced for the owl, the most endangered animal in Canada.

Spotted owls have been reduced from 1000 birds historically to only 17 today, with ongoing logging being the principal culprit. Monitoring by the Wilderness Committee shows that 14 owls have gone missing since 2005. Without immediate protection of all remaining old growth, and aggressive recruitment of old growth, the spotted owl could be extinct in BC just in time for the 2010 Olympics when the eyes of the world are focussed on BC.

Rich Coleman, in an article published today in the Vancouver Sun is quoted as saying “when we find a pair of owls that are mating we protect that area”. What Coleman neglected to say is that there are only 4 remaining owl pairs and that they are all either in parks already or are otherwise protected. “Coleman seems to be mis-informed about spotted owl habitat protection in BC. The spotted owl scientific community is united in disagreement to his claims” said Andy Miller, Wilderness Committee Staff Scientist and former member of the Spotted Owl Recovery Team.

There are currently 9 single spotted owls and one juvenile remaining in BC, all of which are subject to capture and placement in breeding zoos. Five current owl sites are currently being logged and/or have plans for imminent logging including, Fire and Rogers Creeks near the north end of Harrison Lake, Utzlius Creek near Boston Bar, and S&M and Blackwater Creeks near Pemberton. The BC government has advanced logging plans at these sites despite stern warnings from its own scientists on the Spotted Owl Recovery Team to not log in current owl areas.

“We are concerned that sites from which owls are being captured and placed in zoos are scheduled for logging” said Miller, “The government seems to have no plan to protect habitat at current owl sites nor at potential sites where young captive bred owls can be released in the future. For this reason we are highly suspect that once the owls are all safely in cages the BC government will declare them functionally extinct claiming there are no places left to release captive bred owls. This captive breeding plan could be a red herring; it seems designed to make the owl problem go away so the BC government can log the remaining old growth.”

British Columbia has no laws designed specifically to protect endangered species. What BC dearly needs is an endangered species law that removes discretionary power from politicians and mandates habitat protection. Currently, BC is in direct violation of the Federal Species At Risk Act (SARA) in their management of the spotted owl. “We have been calling for federal government intervention for years”, said Miller, “if they dont intervene soon, there will be no owls left and the public will know that this federal law has no value to spotted owls.”

You can read the Vancouver Sun Article here.

For more information contact Andy Miller @ 604-992-3099 or 604-683-8220.