As a licensed Ontario…

As a licensed Ontario wildlife and raptor rehabilitator, falconer and raptor breeder ( including Northern Goshawk) for 40 years I think that it is an excellent idea to add Northern Goshawks to the list of wild Ontario raptors which could be utilized for hunting in partnership with licensed Ontario falconers. The proposal shows a great deal of thought and effort so that on an annual basis, with the listed conditions, the wild populations continue to thrive and be monitored, and the identified goshawks are utilized by qualified falconers. In Ontario there is an good corps of talented goshawk specialists who have hunted with captive bred birds for decades, but for sure there is something different and exciting about working with a native raptor that is the product of hundreds of years of successful genetics and survival programming in our Ontario environment . I use falconry techniques to condition injured raptors to the point where they can be reintroduced to the wild. Conscientious falconers are an excellent resource for how various populations are existing in the wild as they become keenly aware of population trends, they know locations of nest sites, suitable locations for various game, and they recognize changes and trends from "normal" ie: are goshawks nesting in the same tree year after year, are ducks not coming to the same ponds due to interference, land development, weather changes; are various raptor species visible in their usual numbers in their usual territory, how many babies are they successfully producing? Are certain birds appearing in greater numbers than previously? I support this proposal.