Seagulls, why cant we hunt them?

beretta boy said:
Some benefit aside, seagull (and cormorant) populations are excessive.

A "hot barrel" seagull hunt would be fun: ;)

Hide in a dumpster in your local landfill, use green garbage bags for camo wear, put out KFC and McDonald's Happy Meal boxes for decoys.
You could even bait with french fries and Timbits.
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then sell'em back to kfc as redneck prairie chicken.
 
I've got a "Kill to Scare" permit for them. Easier said than done though, when you know you're not taking their life for any other reason than "they're a 'nuisance' to me".
My heart pounds like a jackhammer every time I line one up in my sights to end it's life just because it's hungry.
Yea, yea. I know I'm a pussy and they're flying rats, etc., but it's tough to kill for convenience.
Or at least it should be...
BTW, they're a 'Migratory' bird and therefore not considered indigenous. I believe that's why they're a (group of) protected species.
 
Hoakster said:
I've got a "Kill to Scare" permit for them. Easier said than done though, when you know you're not taking their life for any other reason than "they're a 'nuisance' to me".
My heart pounds like a jackhammer every time I line one up in my sights to end it's life just because it's hungry.
Yea, yea. I know I'm a pussy and they're flying rats, etc., but it's tough to kill for convenience.
Or at least it should be...
BTW, they're a 'Migratory' bird and therefore not considered indigenous. I believe that's why they're a (group of) protected species.
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Wow! You and my friend with the float plane sure differ! He relishes in killing them, he was showing me his permit one day at a trap shoot and laughing at how he had typed a number 1 in front of the number 10 signifying how many he could kill in a day. Laugh2
 
2strklvr said:
Not sure if you are saying the cormorants are blameless and should be left alone, but I'm talking about inland lakes with no commercial fisheries. Certainly fish populations in these lakes have come under pressure from shoreline development and pollution, but to say that we decimated them is patently false. Of course you are free to lay the blame where it makes you feel warm & fuzzy, however that doesn't change the fact that the cormorants could use a serious culling.
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Funny i fish many inland lakes which have no or very few cormorants yet experienced a collapse of major sport fish in the late 80s and nineties. One thing these lakes all feature is a close proximity to major highways. But blame the cormorants!

Other things like the proliferation of smelt have had a major influence on fish stocks. Smelt were distributed across ON by, you guessed it, humans. They are native to only the Ottawa valley in Ontario. Now they are almost everywhere. They have an enormous impact on sport fish. Or how about rock bass? Their range has expanded to almost everywhere. What do you suppose rock bass do to fry and spawn? Again, something influenced by humans. But blame some birds!
 
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DFarmer said:
As others have mentioned, misidentification could be a problem. This is not a seagull but a black tern.
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Absolutely. Some gull species are actually rare or threatened, and unless you know your stuff, telling the difference can be a challenge.

Bottom line, the Migratory Birds Convention Act is there for a reason, and its a good one.

What do you think seagulls did for a living before we started throwing all of our garbage and sewage into the ocean and everywhere else. Gulls might be a nuisance, and have to be dealt with as such on occasion, but I generally have more respect for them than most of the humans who look to destroy things for no good reason other than as an excuse for their own sh*tty behaviour.
 
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blasted_saber said:
Funny i fish many inland lakes which have no or very few cormorants yet experienced a collapse of major sport fish in the late 80s and nineties. One thing these lakes all feature is a close proximity to major highways. But blame the cormorants!

Other things like the proliferation of smelt have had a major influence on fish stocks. Smelt were distributed across ON by, you guessed it, humans. They are native to only the Ottawa valley in Ontario. Now they are almost everywhere. They have an enormous impact on sport fish. Or how about rock bass? Their range has expanded to almost everywhere. What do you suppose rock bass do to fry and spawn? Again, something influenced by humans. But blame some birds!
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Agreed that smelt are/have been an issue - strangely they have all but disappeared from Lake Simcoe, especially when compared to the numbers seen 20 years ago. FWIW I have a place on a lake where rock bass are an invasive species and have had an impact on the native trout population. As recommended by the resource manager I kill every one of the little buggers that I catch, which studies have shown does help. Why shouldn't the same be done with cormorants? Because they weren't directly imported as an invasive by a direct act of humans? That is what you seem to suggest. Regardless, if you are fishing where there are no cormorants, then obviously there is no need for a cull in any of those lakes. That doesn't mean there aren't many Ontario lakes that are absolutely ravaged by these birds, which just adds to the other problems faced by their sport fisheries. In effect your argument against a cull is akin to someone that lives in Temagami stating they don't understand why people from Toronto so badly want something done about gridlock because personally they've never been stuck in a traffic jam getting to the local liquor store. Anyways, here's a decent write up outlining the damage these birds can do to fish populations.

h ttp://blogs.canoe.ca/outdoorsguy/fishing/cormorant-coming-soon-to-a-waterway-near-you/
 
wingshots said:
I saw saw two Eagles take one out to LUNCH once! It was Awsome! White feathers all over the place!!
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trebor2880 said:
There, finally a use for a seagull, an eagles meal.
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Eagles mean business. Our local family of Bald eagles, there are 5 now down near the river, mom, pop and 3 young hunters just now flying, usually they like fish, ground hog and rodents, however they do get a taste for small dogs like poodle when they can get them! Never seen them take out a Seagull or Raven, but one of these days if they get hungry, let the feathers fly :evil:
 
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