IWMC  World Conservation Trust

Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
1200 Vanier Parkway
Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0R2

The Honorable Arnold Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P.
Solicitor General of Canada
13th Floor, 340 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0P8

Florida, 28 September 2003

Mr. Commissioner:
Honorable Minister:

IWMC is an international organization of ten years' standing that exists to protect and promote the sustainable use of the world's wildlife resources. We believe that determining the proper balance between the needs of people and the world's terrestrial and aquatic resources best serves the interests of conservation. Because of this interest, we have closely followed the campaign of the "Fur-Bearer Defenders", a new recruit to the myriad ranks of "environmentalist" non-governmental organizations (NGO's) that aspire to dictate Canadian environmental policy by denying Canadian citizens the right to exploit the wildlife resources with which our country is so richly endowed.

I founded IWMC after serving for nine years as Secretary General of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). During my tenure in that office, I witnessed at first hand the burgeoning power of these NGO's. Whether they profess themselves to be anti-whaling; anti-trapping or anti-logging, they all cooperate closely in a common two prong campaign to enrich themselves through public donations and to turn nature into a suburban theme park with humankind securely locked out behind perspex barriers.

It is clear that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has now become a primary target of this type of NGO campaign. Please allow me to assure you, from my years of experience, that RCMP is not the ultimate target of the "Fur-Bearer Defenders". Rather, RCMP simply constitutes the first tempting target that the NGO's will use to launch a campaign and raise public funding with a view to mounting an overall assault on the 50,000 Canadian trappers who today manage healthy furbearer populations. In short, RCMP owes it not just to itself but also to a large segment of hard working Canadians to make its case to the nation's public before this anti-fur campaign gets traction because, once it has been placed on the defensive, RCMP will find it increasingly difficult to catch up in the public debate.

I have lived outside Canada for 22 years but I have always maintained - and will maintain - my Canadian citizenship. I treasure our national heritage of utilizing our plentiful wildlife resources and, quite frankly, I am angered when I see those traditions besieged by extremists who, in reality, know little to nothing of nature and true conservation.

I recently published a book, "Embracing the Earth's Wild Resources", which is already available in English and French. This book describes the modus operandi of the NGO's and exposes their common fund raising patterns. Excerpts from Chapter 14, most relevant to this issue, is sent herewith.

I shall be in Ottawa on October 10 and October 27. I will be happy to meet with you on either of these dates to discuss this matter further. IWMC will be more than happy to share with you its experiences from several different countries in dealing with this most sensitive issue, in the best interests of the Canadian people and our nation's wildlife.

Truly Yours,

Eugene Lapointe
IWMC President
Former Secretary General of CITES (1982-1990)

Copies to:
Fur Institute of Canada
Fisheries Council of Canada
Joint Secretariat
Inuvialuit Game Council
Inuit Tapirisat of Canada
Nunavut Tunngavik
Nunavut Commission
Canadian Sealers Association
Ontario Outdoor Writers Association

Promoting the Sustainable Use of Wild Resources
- Whether Terrestrial or Aquatic
- as a Conservation Mechanism