To the Ontario government,…

To the Ontario government,

My comment is to express my strong opposition for the proposed legislative changes to increase the live capture of Ontario birds of prey.

It is unclear what the benefit of this change would be. There are only 200 falconers in Ontario, so the benefit is felt only by a small minority of people. This is not a substantial enough quantity, nor is it of high enough cultural significance to warrant the proposed changes. Your information does not cite any indigenous history, and therefore seems to support a colonial heritage, which already dominates our mainstream society and receives many benefits therein.

Your assessment deems that bird of prey populations would be unaffected by these changes; I question the sustainability of this if 200 birds (the proposed maximum) would be taken from the wild every year. However, irrespective of this, it is my opinion that it is unethical to capture wild animals to use for recreational activity. These birds are not at all domesticated, and by making greater allowances for their capture, it perpetuates the misguided perception that humans should be given the right to dominate over wild species.