TheStar.com
April 24, 2007
Canadian Press
Politicians and fishermen from the United States and Ontario want the right to shoot the hundreds of thousands of double-crested cormorants blamed for damaged wildlife and reduced fish populations and say the province should be doing more to stop the “environmental crisis.”
But despite concerns that the populations of the large migratory birds are growing out of control, the Ontario government said Tuesday that there won’t be a cull of cormorants as there has been in the last three years.
Politicians from New York State have been struggling to come up with a solution for the troublesome birds and weren’t happy to learn of Ontario’s plans to manage the population simply by disturbing nests and oiling eggs, which prevents them from hatching.
“I’m disappointed to hear that they’ve chosen not to continue the cull,” said New York State assemblyman Darrel Aubertine, adding that although the vast majority of reproducing cormorants are in Canada, they always seem to make their way south.
“Birds don’t recognize an international border and they continue to raise havoc with fisheries. I would urge my counterparts — with all due respect — to certainly consider ... the culling of the birds.”
Those who want to control the cormorants say each bird gorges on at least a pound of fish a day, damages healthy trees, and leaves behind excrement that is toxic to trees and vegetation.
The government is making a huge mistake in not ordering a cull and is likely trying to avoid some negative headlines by letting the birds stick around, said Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters spokesman Robert Pye.
“The resistance (to a cull) is purely from people who don’t understand wildlife management, from a small band of animal rights activists,” he said.
He said the problem is now a full blown crisis and by mid-summer there could be well over 700,000 cormorants causing trouble in the Great Lakes basin.
Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said the government called off the cull this year to study what happens when the cormorant population is left undisturbed.
“This is what the scientists tell us is the best way to go about it, so they’ll assess that impact this year, look at the populations being now undisturbed by a cull and see really if this action has made any difference or not,” he said.
But Pye said the last thing the government should be doing is delaying its strategy and “Ontario needs more cormorant research like Ontario needs more cormorants.”
South of the border, legislation in New York State proposes to let government officials shoot down cormorants in areas where they damage the environment, and politicians in Michigan are also exploring ways to control the birds.
Liberal member Ernie Parsons tabled a private member’s bill in the Ontario legislature in response to concerns in his riding and proposed that residents be allowed to shoot cormorants on their private property.
But even he isn’t confident it will get passed by his government.
“I’m not optimistic as I was at one time,” Parsons said, although he predicted the issue will not go away.
“In my community I’ve watched the cormorants absolutely strip the islands of all vegetation, I’ve watched them devour the fish out of the bay, I’ve watched them drive birds out of the community.”
Over the past three years, almost 11,000 cormorants were culled in eastern Ontario.”
Barry MacKay of the group Cormorant Defenders International said he’s happy the cull was cancelled but added that the government “still doesn’t get it.”
“They want to decrease the population that’s already not only stabilized but seen to be decreasing,” MacKay said.
“This is a native bird that belongs, it isn’t wiping anything out, never has, never will.”
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/206556
April 24, 2007
Canadian Press
Politicians and fishermen from the United States and Ontario want the right to shoot the hundreds of thousands of double-crested cormorants blamed for damaged wildlife and reduced fish populations and say the province should be doing more to stop the “environmental crisis.”
But despite concerns that the populations of the large migratory birds are growing out of control, the Ontario government said Tuesday that there won’t be a cull of cormorants as there has been in the last three years.
Politicians from New York State have been struggling to come up with a solution for the troublesome birds and weren’t happy to learn of Ontario’s plans to manage the population simply by disturbing nests and oiling eggs, which prevents them from hatching.
“I’m disappointed to hear that they’ve chosen not to continue the cull,” said New York State assemblyman Darrel Aubertine, adding that although the vast majority of reproducing cormorants are in Canada, they always seem to make their way south.
“Birds don’t recognize an international border and they continue to raise havoc with fisheries. I would urge my counterparts — with all due respect — to certainly consider ... the culling of the birds.”
Those who want to control the cormorants say each bird gorges on at least a pound of fish a day, damages healthy trees, and leaves behind excrement that is toxic to trees and vegetation.
The government is making a huge mistake in not ordering a cull and is likely trying to avoid some negative headlines by letting the birds stick around, said Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters spokesman Robert Pye.
“The resistance (to a cull) is purely from people who don’t understand wildlife management, from a small band of animal rights activists,” he said.
He said the problem is now a full blown crisis and by mid-summer there could be well over 700,000 cormorants causing trouble in the Great Lakes basin.
Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said the government called off the cull this year to study what happens when the cormorant population is left undisturbed.
“This is what the scientists tell us is the best way to go about it, so they’ll assess that impact this year, look at the populations being now undisturbed by a cull and see really if this action has made any difference or not,” he said.
But Pye said the last thing the government should be doing is delaying its strategy and “Ontario needs more cormorant research like Ontario needs more cormorants.”
South of the border, legislation in New York State proposes to let government officials shoot down cormorants in areas where they damage the environment, and politicians in Michigan are also exploring ways to control the birds.
Liberal member Ernie Parsons tabled a private member’s bill in the Ontario legislature in response to concerns in his riding and proposed that residents be allowed to shoot cormorants on their private property.
But even he isn’t confident it will get passed by his government.
“I’m not optimistic as I was at one time,” Parsons said, although he predicted the issue will not go away.
“In my community I’ve watched the cormorants absolutely strip the islands of all vegetation, I’ve watched them devour the fish out of the bay, I’ve watched them drive birds out of the community.”
Over the past three years, almost 11,000 cormorants were culled in eastern Ontario.”
Barry MacKay of the group Cormorant Defenders International said he’s happy the cull was cancelled but added that the government “still doesn’t get it.”
“They want to decrease the population that’s already not only stabilized but seen to be decreasing,” MacKay said.
“This is a native bird that belongs, it isn’t wiping anything out, never has, never will.”
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/206556
