- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
agreed. some zones priority 4 or 5 for a bull draw.
when I was a moose tags were open, those days are gone, we have taken to hunting deer most years.
Calf tags are better then allowing the hunting of adult cows.
Ontario Moose hunt just died....
- Thread starter ckc123
- Start date
agreed. some zones priority 4 or 5 for a bull draw.
when I was a moose tags were open, those days are gone, we have taken to hunting deer most years.
Calf tags are better then allowing the hunting of adult cows.
With all the guys that complain about predation from wolves and bears, how many help with the management or harvest of them? I've gone moose hunting on and off for 15 years depending on schedule with work/vacation time and tags etc. It's been obvious for years that the MNR should change the tag allocation system and I'm glad they finally have. Hopefully in 10 years or so I can take my boys up and be lucky enough to see a moose and bring one home. Until then I'm happy driving a few hours to get my spring bear, taking a deer around home and all the other little delicious critters that run around. If I wanted cheap meat I'd go to the grocery store.
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Agreed.
I hear lots of guys ##### and moan about bears and wolves but they won't do anything about it. They want "someone else" to do it.
I hunt in the same WMU as the OP.
I see more moose then anything else. Deer, bears, wolves whatever. They run circles around us.
I happily hunt bears, but sadly in my area 42, coyotes and wolves are not allowed to be harvested. Its absolutely crazy, but that is the case.
for sure from ottawa ... can guarantee up north there s still people relying on the land 100% and no not in whitehorse lol ...
canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
Considering there should be zero calf harvest, stop being a cry baby over what's best for the moose population. It's about time the MNRF stopped listening to the selfish moose hunters and started doing what's better for the moose.
- Location
- The Kawartha Lakes Region in Ontario
Crazy idea.
It's not the calf harvest impacting on moose numbers, it's the wanton destruction of cows. Many WMU's have a considerably higher cow quota than bull's, and the cow tags are now cheaper than the bull tags. Seems counterproductive to me, one bull can service many cows. 21A, two minute drive from me, 277 bull tags, 422 cow tags.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
Fixed it for you!
I don’t quite understand the caribou thing either. Animal diversity and a chance of woodland caribou being exterpated? They caribou seem like a very fragile ungulate.
Reducing the moose in 21A seems unique because they aren’t trying that in the other areas they co- exist in Ontario.
I’ve seen caribou in around Red lake and on the islands but never the ones by nipigon
They can’t even manage the caribou on the islands in superior, and that’s as much of a controlled environment as your going to get without a fence.
Ontario has tried many tweaks to the natural balance of nature, in this case regarding woodland caribou, introduction of wolves, removal of wolves, removal of competing species... all without a great deal of success... reintroduction of turkeys is one of the notable exceptions. The greater issue is that we have already mucked up the natural balances, and rectifying those inequities is a complex proposition.
That is not a fact... predation on game species is only one piece of a complex puzzle... if you read through the thread you will find most of the other pieces. You could eliminate predators entirely and still be dealing with these same issues. If you believe that eliminating predators is justified to save "even one" moose calf, then you subscribe to the same Walt Disney malarkey that Harris & Snobolen used to cancel the spring bear hunt; "Even one orphaned bear Cub, is one too many." (Wipe tears, stifle sob)
Managing these resources is never black and white, these are complex issues and finding the right balance will take a multi-faceted approach and some trial and error. Most people have a pet peeve they like to spout to explain the decline of the moose numbers, whether it is predation by bears/wolves, First Nation's overharvest and exploitation, poaching, brain worm, global warming, forestry practices, habitat loss and human encroachment, increased auto collisions, tag mismanagement etc... etc... in fact, all of these have an impact to varying degrees, but having tunnel vision and focusing on only one or two factors is not likely going to change the trajectory.
" it is predation by bears/wolves, First Nation's overharvest and exploitation, poaching,"
those are literally the problem with declining moose numbers. look around any reserve in a 50KM radius, no moose. high wolf/bear pops, no moose. shooting calves, moose that will never reproduce nor turn into a trophy bull.
those are literally the problem with declining moose numbers. look around any reserve in a 50KM radius, no moose. high wolf/bear pops, no moose. shooting calves, moose that will never reproduce nor turn into a trophy bull.
madtrapper143
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Steep Rock Lake NWO
Just a quick comparator for interest. Maine has 75,000 moose. Ontario has 80,000. Maine has very low numbers (if any) of wolves compared to Ontario's 8,000 to 10,000. Maine has 23,000 black bears Ontario's estimate is 80,000. Maine has temperate winters compared to moose range Ontario. ( in case climate change is to be considered) Maine allows 3125 moose tags per season. 800 of these are antlerless ( cow or calf) the rest are for bulls only. Ontario allows 16,826 tags which includes cow calf tag numbers of around 10,000. With tag allotment(with party hunting in Ontario but not allowed in Maine) and the amount of predators it is obvious that we need to reduce the number of moose harvested by hunters if we want to increase the moose herd. The factors of indigenous harvest, bear/wolf predation are largely beyond our control so it boils down to taking a kick and dropping the moose tags even lower. Ontario hunters killed about 4,000 moose in 2018. Maine hunters killed 2,400 in 2018. I think that a 2 year hiatus on moose hunting (with close MNR&F bio observation) would reveal some interesting affect on moose numbers. I have no prediction they may go up, they may go down or stay the same. But at least we would have a baseline to start moose management with. Maine's successful ( to say the least) way of managing moose is largely the low issuance of tags and subsequent low harvest. I don't like this any more than any one else but we have to greatly reduce the number of moose we shoot each year to have the population grow. The season hiatus would support that action possibly. There may be many factors using up the moose that we are not aware of or feel that they are significant. Maine is quickly approaching an overpopulation of moose (due to land mass size) we on the other hand should be able to increase our herd to 190,000 animals with minimal environmental impact. Anyways just pondering hope the numbers are interesting.
sources OFAH moose management review, Ontario Ministry of natural Resources and Forestry moose hunting regs and Maine Department if Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Darryl
sources OFAH moose management review, Ontario Ministry of natural Resources and Forestry moose hunting regs and Maine Department if Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Darryl
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