Ontario government introducing fall cormorant hunt

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Ontario government introducing fall cormorant hunt

Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume



A Double-crested Cormorant LARRY WONG / Postmedia Network

In an effort to control growing numbers of double-breasted cormorants in the province, the Ontario government is introducing a fall harvest of the potentially damaging bird species, the Toronto Sun has learned.

Natural Resources and Forestry Minister John Yakabuski will announce the harvest Friday in Fenelon Falls, responding to concerns from both anglers and homeowners about the threat posed by the birds.

“It’s got to the point where they’re affecting the water quality,” said Bob Stewart, a director of the Stinson’s Bay Property Owner’s Association.

The issue, he said, rests in the bird’s guano — a toxic, highly-acidic poop that’s harmful to both humans and wildlife.

“It’s going to get into people’s wells, it’s going to get into people’s water systems, we just have to do something about it.”


Their numbers fell sharply a half-century ago due to pesticide use, but the double-breasted cormorant have since rebounded dramatically.

Adept and intelligent anglers, the birds — which each consume half a kilogram of fish per day — decimate local fisheries.

The guano produced by large colonies of thousands of birds not only kills local trees and destroys arable soil, it contaminates nearby lakes and waterways — of particular concern for the communities along the Trent-Severn Waterway.


About 10 years ago, the son of Stewart’s neighbour was hospitalized for 10 days after swimming through guano-contaminated water.

Following public consultations in late 2018 on establishing a cormorant hunting season, documents obtained by the Sun state a season for hunting the birds will run from Sept. 15 of this year until Dec. 31.

The decision to limit the hunt to just the fall stems from concerns over interfering with recreational waterway use and migratory nesting periods.

A survey conducted last year put Ontario’s cormorant population at a minimum of 143,000 birds spread across 344 colonies.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/ontario-government-introducing-fall-cormorant-hunt/wcm/e97a9e04-f4e3-4b48-8f63-d8aaf4077fbe/?fbclid=IwAR2ENlfPD1-SEcrh16JOE_uZYFec6ePW7YRIab9Xbj4_POYrgi5oJkFOxmY
 
A hunt implies you're going to do something with it.

Isn't it illegal to allow game to spoil?

Why not just designate them as pests.

Ryan
 
RyPal said:
A hunt implies you're going to do something with it.

Isn't it illegal to allow game to spoil?

Why not just designate them as pests.

Ryan
Click to expand...

Not in this case,

[FONT=&quot]The [/FONT]Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act [FONT=&quot]currently prohibits anyone who kills game wildlife (including game birds), or who possesses game wildlife killed by hunting, from allowing that meat to spoil. Via this posting, the Ministry is also consulting on a proposal to amend the [/FONT]Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act[FONT=&quot] to add provisions so hunters could allow cormorant to spoil.This proposal would add provisions to the Act, so that persons who lawfully hunt (or possess) cormorants could be exempt from this requirement and would be subject to conditions that require the person to retrieve and dispose of the carcass.Should this proposal proceed, it may be accompanied by regulations to implement the exemption and requirements.[/FONT]
Click to expand...
 
Lots of them on the north and northwest shores of Superior and the inland lakes but they won't get hunted because about the only way to efficiently hunt them is out of a boat where you can't have a loaded gun . In the southern states it's perfectly legal to hunt them from motor boats . No idea if it's different in southern Ontario in the agricultural areas but we have little of that here so nobody is going to be sitting on the edge of a field with decoys out . Lots of them sitting on the rocks in the river by my place but almost no access down the river banks and that puts them just out of shotgun range but still inside .22 range but illegal to shoot them with .22s .
 
Maybe bring back "Workfare" and get the idle lads to pluck and process the hunters harvests.

Then flash freeze them and ship them off to China as a Canadian Foul Delight.
 
2020 cormorant hunting season
Ontario has introduced a fall hunting season for double-crested cormorants.

You can hunt cormorants in accordance with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and general small game hunting requirements allowed with an Outdoors Card and small game licence, similar to other game bird species.

These rules also apply to hunting double-crested cormorants.

Open season is September 15 to December 31 in all Wildlife Management Units.
The harvest limit is 15 birds per day.
You can use shotguns, including muzzle-loading shotguns, not larger than 10 gauge with non-toxic ammunition. You cannot use a shotgun loaded with a shell containing a single projectile.
You can hunt double-crested cormorants from a stationary motorboat, meaning the motorboat is not in motion and the power to the motor has been turned off.
You are exempt from the requirement to wear hunter orange during the open season for deer, elk, and moose. This is consistent with the rules for hunting migratory game birds other than woodcock.
All other relevant federal, provincial, and municipal laws/rules related to hunting apply (for example trespassing, municipal discharge of firearms by-laws, federal firearm licensing requirements.)
Retrieval and disposal
Hunters must follow additional rules for retrieving and disposing of cormorants. You must:

have adequate means of retrieving any bird that is shot
immediately retrieve the bird, dispatch the bird if it is alive when retrieved, and include it in your bag limit
If you choose to not use the birds you harvest, you must dispose of the birds by either:

delivering the bird to an approved waste disposal site that permits the disposal of dead animals
delivering the bird to a disposal facility, or using the services of a licensed collector, under the Disposal of Deadstock Regulation (Ontario Regulation 105/09) made under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001
burying it on private land owned by the hunter, or on private land occupied by the hunter with consent of the land owner
 
Jaaska said:
Lots of them on the north and northwest shores of Superior and the inland lakes but they won't get hunted because about the only way to efficiently hunt them is out of a boat where you can't have a loaded gun . In the southern states it's perfectly legal to hunt them from motor boats . No idea if it's different in southern Ontario in the agricultural areas but we have little of that here so nobody is going to be sitting on the edge of a field with decoys out . Lots of them sitting on the rocks in the river by my place but almost no access down the river banks and that puts them just out of shotgun range but still inside .22 range but illegal to shoot them with .22s .
Click to expand...

Same in Southern Ontario, you can shoot from a motor boat but must be anchored.
Can't chase them around.... sadly.
 
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