Canadian Wildlife Species At Risk

Summarizes the situation of several dozen species of Canadian wildlife faced with the very real possibility of extinction.

COSEWIC determines the national status of wild species, sub species and separate populations in Canada. All native fish, amphibians, reptiles, plants and animals are included. Freshwater and marine mollusks and lepidoptera are also covered. Three lists are maintained: species with designated status, current geographical occurrence and date listed; species examined and designated in the not at risk category; and species examined and designated in the data deficient category because of insufficient scientific information.

"Politics of the wild details the 353 species at risk in Canada and considers both the intrinsic and the instrumental reasons for protecting biological diversity, with chapters examining the need for habitat protection, terrestrial protected areas such as national parks, marine species at risk, and the various legislative and interest group attempts to preserve biodiversity. Public policy on endangered species is considered from both historical and comparative perspectives, as is Canada's role in establishing international agreements--and the government's failure, in recent years, to meet the obligations that they entail."--Cover.

Hardly a day goes by without news of the extinction or endangerment of yet another animal species, followed by urgent but largely unheeded calls for action. An eloquent denunciation of the failures of Canada's government and society to protect wildlife from human exploitation, Max Foran's The Subjugation of Canadian Wildlife argues that a root cause of wildlife depletions and habitat loss is the culturally ingrained beliefs that underpin management practices and policies. Tracing the evolution of the highly contestable assumptions that define the human–wildlife relationship, Foran stresses the price wild animals pay for human self-interest. Using several examples of government oversight at the federal, provincial, and territorial levels, from the Species at Risk Act to the Biodiversity Strategy, Protected Areas Network, and provincial management plans, this volume shows that wildlife policies are as much – or more – about human needs, priorities, and profit as they are about preservation. Challenging established concepts including ecological integrity, adaptive management, sport hunting as conservation, and the flawed belief that wildlife is a renewable resource, the author compels us to recognize animals as sentient individuals and as integral components of complex ecological systems. A passionate critique of contemporary wildlife policy, The Subjugation of Canadian Wildlife calls for belief-change as the best hope for an ecologically healthy, wildlife-rich Canada.

COSEWIC determines the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. This report presents the Committee's status designations on native species including the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, arthropods, mollusks, and plants. The report includes summary tables as well as tables in the following categories: species with designated status, current geographical occurrence & date listed; species examined & designated in the not at risk category; and species examined & designated in the data deficient category because of insufficient scientific information. It also provides a short history of each species that has been reassessed by COSEWIC and a record of changes in common & scientific names of species.

This publication is intended to promote a better understanding of the need for species at risk recovery in Canada and the ways in which people can participate in that process. It describes RENEW (Recovery of Nationally Endangered Wildlife), Canada's national recovery program, and provides information on how the Species at Risk Act influences the recovery process; recovery teams; corporate partnerships; and financial contributions. It also celebrates the Canadians who are striving to save the wild in Canada by describing some recovery successes.

Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service offers information about species at risk in Canada. The status of these species is assigned by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Conservation efforts for endangered, threatened, or extirpated species are implemented by the National Recovery Program (NRP).