Cormorants are NOT game…

Cormorants are NOT game birds and are inedible. So the argument in favour of permitting them to be hunted is limited to indulging people who enjoy killing for killing's sake. I do not agree with that. Also, having countless people taking pot shots at cormorants during the busy lakeside summer season will undoubtedly result in some innocent human deaths and serious injuries. I agree that Double-crested Cormorants are arguably a pest and there is a a reasonable argument (that I don't agree with at present population levels) that they should be controlled. If they need to be controlled, there are ways of culling populations that are efficient and humane and do not involve hundreds of shotgun-toting macho types roaming around to the detriment of everyone else. For example, removing and destroying a percentage of the eggs. Also note that many, if not most, of the cormorant populations are in urban areas (Toronto, Burlington, Hamilton). We don't allow hunting in those areas now and we certainly don't need to start.