A Canadian environmental group is protesting Canada’s decision to seek public comments before giving protection to endangered species. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Transcript
A Canadian environmental group is protesting Canada’s decision to seek public comments before
giving protection to endangered species. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly
reports:
Representatives of the Sierra Club of Canada say they were blindsided by the federal
government’s decision.
The government announced public consultations to consider adding 63 new species to Canada’s
Species at Risk Act.
The Sierra Club’s Rachel Plotkin says endangered species should be chosen by scientists, not by
the public at large.
“Either a species is becoming endangered or its not becoming endangered. It’s not whether or not
someone wants it to be on the list because they recognize that might impact their profit and their
industry.”
Plotkin says socioeconomic issues are already considered when action plans are developped to protect a species.
Unlike the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the Canadian law only protects species on federal land.
However, new listings in the U.S. are also subject to public comment.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.