Sask. conservationists say trend of live-baiting snowy owls for photos endangers the birds

Sarah Bradley understands why people love snowy owls and want to get closer to them, but she's concerned by a social media-driven trend that poses a threat to their survival.

Bradley, a Saskatoon-based conservationist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, says social media enables people to easily share photos and snowy owl locations, which feeds the practice of using live bait to lure the beautiful birds closer for better pictures.

“This is something that's happening not just in our province, but also across the country and anywhere that snowy owls are wintering,” she said.

“People are drawn to them and personally I love them, so I totally understand. But it's very easy for them to become disturbed by photographers and bird watchers.”

Bradley said she’s heard of people using live bait, typically store-bought mice, to get the owls to come near.

“If you are thinking about doing a snowy owl tour or joining an owl photographer, it's important to ask the question about how photos are being obtained and whether they're being taken ethically,” she said.

Determining that an individual photo was taken using bait is difficult to verify, especially as telephoto lenses have developed, Bradley said.

“One of the telltale signs is if the owl is coming head-on into the photo and very close to the photographer,” she said.

“It's a very lucky shot if you can get an owl to come in head-on to a human, which is essentially a predator to an owl.”

Snowy owls breed north of the Arctic Circle and migrate south in the winter, when they can be found throughout much of Canada, extending as far south as the U.S. border.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) classified snowy owls as “threatened” in the country earlier this year.

Louise Blight, co-chair of COSEWIC's bird specialist sub-committee, said the designation was based on a population decline over three generations — which corresponds to around 24 years.

In that time, the snowy owl population declined by over 40 per cent, Blight said. The drop was attributed primarily to changing climate conditions that have lowered the population of lemmings, the owls' primary food source.

It’s not illegal to bait owls in Saskatchewan, but at least one organization says that should change.