Snowy owl labelled threatened by expert group and humans are primarily to blame [Video]

The snowy owl, Quebec’s majestic avian emblem and Harry Potter’s iconic companion, is at risk of becoming endangered if action isn’t taken to reverse the threats to its survival, an independent advisory panel has concluded.

This week, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) classified the species as threatened in the country. 

While the expert group has made this designation, the governments of Canada and Quebec have yet to officially recognize this status.

The Ecomuseum Zoo in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., sounded the alarm this week, calling on the provincial government to act swiftly.

“Alarm bells should be ringing in Quebec,” wrote the zoo in a statement sent to CBC.

David Rodrigue, the zoo’s executive director, pointed to a range of factors behind the snowy owl’s decline — many of them human-caused.

“We should all take it as a wake-up call and really start looking at what it …