We should not be expanding…

We should not be expanding the increase of wild take.

Those applying for the lottery, should be vetted a little more carefully.

Falconry in Ontario already has a large number of breeders that support the community. Pushing this agenda will affect these breeders, potentially costing Ontario jobs. Instead we should be supporting these breeders and their industry in these uncertain times. This industry supplies our local community, and supplies birds globally.

We do have some documented bad actors in our Falconry community, that "allegedly" trap and breed illegally captured birds, and/or have been convicted under the law for poor husbandry. Mountsberg Raptor Centre now houses some of these ministry-seized birds, and have gone to great effort and expense to rehabilitate these poor souls.

Opening up wild take for Northern Goshawks appears to be another attempt by the provincial government to appease a special interest group by ignoring data, science, and the guidance of known experts in the field. This is not dissimilar to the ill-conceived Double-crested Cormorant hunt. I understand only a limited number of permits to take young goshawks would be distributed, if approved, but we all know that if you give an inch to those who are reputed to take a mile in such instances, they will.

Northern Goshawks have still not recovered from when they were being shot with impunity up until the 1960s. Please do not open up this door.