Ontario Moose hunt just died....
- Thread starter ckc123
- Start date
Compensatory mortality.
Calf moose are the most likely to not make it through the winter. Removing some from the population doesn't have a negative impact on overall population numbers because they would die from winter or predators anyways. One of the issues with understanding this concept is separating population level ideas from individuals. This is a well understood concept among wildlife managers though.
That said, it seems pretty evident that Ontario has allowed too many calf tags. A certain number of calfs won't negatively impact the population but clearly there are too many being taken given the other factors at play.
It’s pretty far fetched comparing wildlife and habitats between the west and Ontario I’ve spent enough time in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and northeastern BC to know how different these provinces are compared to a good chunk of Ontario, not saying exceptions aren’t made.
Too many folks watched Bambi as a youth I think... they sound off on a personal opinion without actually having knowledge of the situation... IMO. If F & G is issuing Cow ( or Calf ) tags... someone likely put a fair amount of homework into the matter. Seems awfully Fudd-ish to spout off without actually having knowledge of it.
Which I do not have myself... hence I leave it to someone who went to school for it and does it for a living.
Just my thoughts of course... carry on as you see fit
Interesting concept. How does one access this information for perusal?
I never bought into that concept. And never will.
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Regardless, it is a legitimate management strategy, to allow for higher hunter participation with minimal impact on the moose population. The key is, and this is where Ontario went wrong for so many years, is controlling the calf tag allocation by management unit. For 20+ years, Ontario had an "over the counter" unlimited tag approach to managing calf harvest... that is an eventual recipe for disaster. Making calf tags available only in an exclusive draw and controlling the numbers by unit allows the MNR to control the harvest numbers.
And some people refuse to believe the earth is round, but their ignorance doesn't make it untrue.
There is a certain number of animals that WILL NOT survive the winter, and removing some of those animals from the landscape before winter does not negatively impact the herd size and in some cases can actually help because it allows the scarce resources that are available to go to animals that have a better chance of surviving winter.
Exactly. Its a management strategy. Ontario wasn't using it as a management strategy though, they were using it as a low bar for entry into moose hunting. I just hope their new tag system helps recover the population some.
Hoyt; you have stop answering these questions with factual answers... you post from the heart. And remember... this is a virtual woodstove in a Country store. Got to let the Old Timer's sound off without making them feel bad by showing them as being incorrect.
on that you do not count the moose from NB and QC going to maine. moose like other animals do not care about border ....
matane is the exeption in quebec world and moose hunting rifle is not last that long as well in other places in quebec ...
I'm going to eat a little bit of crow here... my son's best friend just got posted to the fish and game detachment in Maple Creek.
He was in Northern Saskatchewan. His friend said that a bear that's been in the bush eating proper bear food... Well it's a delicious thing. But if you get a bear that's been hanging out at the dump or the landfill... Not so good.
I've got a good start on how to plan my first bear hunt anyhow. I'm thinking 9.3 x 57. Mostly because it's such a nice stalking rifle.
He was in Northern Saskatchewan. His friend said that a bear that's been in the bush eating proper bear food... Well it's a delicious thing. But if you get a bear that's been hanging out at the dump or the landfill... Not so good.
I've got a good start on how to plan my first bear hunt anyhow. I'm thinking 9.3 x 57. Mostly because it's such a nice stalking rifle.
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Every moose hunter that buys a moose license gets a calf tag, under the old system. 10 years ago they were giving 15000 or so adult tags in the draw, for 100k hunters. The other 75-85000 hunters got a calf tag. Not all were filled of course, but there was no science involved. It was a money grab to get hunters to buy licenses.
As stated, it should have been controlled per wmu. I realize some calves don't make winter, but without calves you dont get adults. No calf harvest would have been better than a free for all.
Agree'd. While I'm all for calf hunting under a well managed system, that clearly isn't what Ontario has been for the last few decades.
My point wasnt to start an argument, and yes if its managed properly it could work. However it wasnt. Lets say there were 1000 calves shot in a given year, of those 1000 do you really think that most of them would have been killed by predators or died offed from disease or accident? Those 1000 taken put more pressure on the remaining calves.
On a side note, as a bit of a sore spot, in WMU 48 and a couple others, we have had a calf draw for for about 20 years now. I have seen an increase in moose at least in the area I hunt yet the adult tags are continuously dropped.
But I do believe the earth is round lol.
Lol that’s for sure
