Activism

BlackSuns is committed to making change in the world. We are involved with many other organizations to lobby government, persuade the public and change businesses. In recent years we have been active on the following campaigns:

A Journey in the Great Bear Rainforest

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see the Great Bear Rainforest. For two weeks I visited salmon hatcheries, met with First Nations leaders, and lived on the research vessel Achiever with the Raincoast conservation foundation crew. We gathered information on bear viewing, trophy hunting, salmon runs and much more. The experience really helped me understand what is at risk if human developments continues to destroy the natural world. It helped me see so much that is worth fighting for.

Fighting the Cruel Fur Industry and lack of labelling laws

Anti-fur Art show at BlackSuns and campaign with The Fur Bearers, against the cruel fur industry. The posters we made were put up throughout British Columbia and we even got some up in Ottawa around the Parliament buildings.

An Attack on the COS

In summer 2018, we were horrified by the number of black bears being shot by the Conservation Officers Service. The organization, chartered to protect BC's beautiful nature, seemed to be acting as as an exterminator service for "nuisance bears". Under the Stop Animal Brutality banner, we launched an attack on the COS; postering, printed truck graphics, petitions, radio interviews and media interviews. We were approached by the chief of the COS to see if we had common ground and then ended up working very closely with the service, the under Deputy Minister, other inspectors, wildlife rehab centres, and a forest ministry biologist. This new collaboration brought success on many issues.

Working to Protect Black Bears across BC

In 2019 BlackSuns dedicated more energy to protecting black bears around the Greater Vancouver area. We started talking to the Conservation Officers Service of BC about ways to reduce conflict between bears and humans, helping to put pressure on municipalities and developers to lock up garbage, and networking various organizations that work to protect bears. Then we launched Save Our Bears to present simple, down-to-earth information that anyone can use, with content for kids and families. To bring the message to life, we commissioned a LEGO® brick stop-motion film to present to kids at events. We have also been working with the COS, forest ministry biologist, and Critter Care on a program to gather more information on relocating bears. finding a more humane way of transporting them, and allowing Critter Care to pick up the cubs themselves for rehabilitation and release.

Standing up to Trophy Hunters

BlackSuns has supported various organizations that fight trophy hunting for years. We have hosted art shows and events to raise money for different groups and even had Marry Polak, Minister of the Environment under Christy Clark in attendance, as her daughter contributed art to a show. In the run up to the 2017 BC provincial election, Trophy Hunting was on the agenda and it was time to step things up. We played a very small part alongside big organizations that took the lead. We supported the effort and launched our own campaign on StopAnimalBrutality.com in 2017 to put pressure on the Clark gov't with posters and printed advertising vehicles to carry our message around the city. Thanks to the efforts of many animal rights and conservation groups, the Grizzly hunt was banned later that year! While the battle to protect other animals continued on, the Grizzly hunt was over.

Connecting with the Animal Rights Community

BlackSuns has been supporting various organizations, such as Animal Justice, Critter Care, and Fur Bearers for many years. In 2016 Kelly receive the Fur Bearers' award for Outstanding Advocacy.