Photo: WENN

Pop singer Miley Cyrus is again using star power to highlight a campaign to protect B.C. wildlife.

Non-profit group Pacific Wild claims there is a loophole in the new ban on trophy hunting that allows hunters to claim bears as food.

The group has enlisted the help of Cyrus, who sings a melancholy version of Teddy Bears’ Picnic against the backdrop of an empty wilderness in a video posted to its website.

Viewers are encouraged to visit the campaign microsite where they can sign a petition, make a donation and record their own version of the song to share via social media.

“While British Columbia is working to put new laws into place banning sport hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest, hunters throughout the rest of the province can circumvent the law by removing a portion of meat from a bear’s carcass and claiming the kill as food,” states a press release. “This makes the law challenging to enforce and may lead to increased poaching.”

The goal of the campaign is to work towards a full ban on grizzly bear trophy hunting throughout B.C., and ultimately to put an end to the hunting of grizzly bears.

“The grizzly bear is the second slowest reproducing land mammal in North America, one that’s threatened throughout much of its natural range and habitat,” says Ian McAllister, Pacific Wild executive director. “Grizzly bears occupy just two per cent of their former range in the lower 48 states today. They are also not a necessary or ethical food source.”

Two years ago, Cyrus used her celebrity status to protest against a controversial B.C. wolf cull.