This is Amber.  At the time of this photo she is three years old, still living close to her Mom’s range and making her way in life as her Mom taught her to do.  If she has cubs now, she will be doing the same for them. 

Amber asks that you write the Premier and MLAs letting them know that we are still here.  Cards, emails and letters get noticed so we have to keep this in front of political noses!  Things are quiet right now but we can’t fade into the background until the next crisis or election.  Short notes are perfectly fine; what we need is volume!  Here is my letter; feel free to draw from it.

Ethics are how we behave when we decide we belong together.

~ Brother David Steindl-Rast ~

April 1st this year will not open to a Spring grizzly hunt, thanks to your commitment. The bears are waking up free of hunter weapons trained on their unsuspecting bodies and for that, we thank you again.  Public awareness pushes social change, as you discovered when you asked for feedback on the grizzly hunt.  British Columbians are prepared to act on doing the right thing,  which is to assert that humans and wildlife belong together on land that we share. 

The first Grizzly Bears I ever met lived in a pitifully small cage in Stanley Park Zoo.  At the time, their deplorable circumstances in captivity were accepted.  How things have changed since the 1950s!    

It’s exciting to learn about current research into animal consciousness and rights.  New science shows without a doubt that animals have keen intelligence and feelings, in excess of what most people ever considered.  There are movements to assign legal rights to nonhuman animals, and even to natural features such as rivers.  Best practices for coexisting with wildlife are already well documented.  And right here in BC,  we have the “Animals, Culture and the Law” course at the University of Victoria which explores the evolving relationship between human and nonhuman animals.  Knowing what we do puts us in a position of greater responsibility to behave ethically toward other animal species. 

Here in BC, we have the privilege of still living with wildlife in natural settings. We can apply what we are learning to create innovative wildlife policy.  The grizzly community has not gone away.  This remains a voter issue and we will support you in every way possible to maintain your decision on the lottery hunt of Grizzly Bears and initiatives to protect where they live.

Best,

Val Murray

https://justiceforbcgrizzlies.com

March 19 2018

References

An excellent overview of the science on animal sentience is “A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience: No Pretending”, by Marc Bekoff, June 29 2013 in https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201306/universal-declaration-animal-sentience-no-pretending.

Animal Justice leads the way in Canada, advocating for the rights of nonhuman animals (https://www.animaljustice.ca).  See also The Nonhuman Rights Project in the United States (https://www.nonhumanrights.org).

A 2018 study of best methods for coexisting with brown bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine is titled “Large Carnivore Management Plans of Protection: Best Practices in EU Member States” at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=IPOL_STU(2018)596844.  The report contains recommendations for best practices.

Law 381, Animals, Culture and the Law, is taught at the University of Victoria (https://www.uvic.ca/law/assets/docs/pcisfall2017/201709%20381%20Animals%20Culture%20and%20the%20Law%20Deckha%20.pdf).

To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

~ Buckminster Fuller ~

 

Contact information for MLAs https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members