I am opposed to ERO proposal…

I am opposed to ERO proposal 013-4124 which would allow uncontrolled hunting of cormorants.

As an avid boater,cottager and outdoor enthusiast, I have numerous opportunities to observe cormorants on both Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe.

Although their numbers soared in the previous decade, we have noticed that their populations seem to have stabilized and that their nesting seems to be confined mostly to already established sites.

It is my understanding that all scientific studies have shown that the cormorants do not negatively impact the supply of sport fish.

The proposal as it is written would allow "hunting" of cormorants during their peak nesting season which would surely cause enormous suffering for both adults and chicks. The fact that hunters would be allowed very high limits and are allowed to leave dead birds to rot encourages wholesale slaughter of a non-food species, not a legitimate hunt.

If residents are concerned about fecal matter from cormorants, I doubt they will be in favour of dead, decomposing carcasses rotting in their neighbourhood.

This proposal threatens the existence of a native species which has already been depleted by poor policies in the past. As an Ontario resident and voter, I expect the provincial government to make decisions on environmental and wildlife matters based on science not to appease the hunting and fishing lobby.