I am shocked and saddened by…

I am shocked and saddened by this. This is NOT the time to be at war with wildlife, we are in the midst of a turning point due to climate change. I am sharing my OPPOSITION to this as a citizen of Ontario. We need to be doing more to protect our ecosystems, not increasing hunting. This is short sighted, and I cannot fathom how this is a priority. Please do NOT move forward with establishing a hunting season which would leave thousands of dependent baby birds to die of overheating, hypothermia, thirst or
starvation, a cruelty that would be illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada, but is
inevitable given that it takes both parents to tend the eggs and young. This will also create health and environmental hazards from the large numbers of rotting birds. This will also result in increased gun use and subsequent disturbance, particularly in cottage country during family vacation time. This does nothing but cater to the pro-gun lobby to the effect that guns and killing solve problems. This will again push the cormorant back to endangered status, necessitating full protection.

The Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Common Tern, Caspian Tern, Black-crowned Night Herons, Great Blue Herons, and Great Egrets will also be disturbed during their breeding season by this hunting activity.
This also encourages the belief, contrary to all scientific evidence, that cormorants are responsible
for depletions of game and commercial fish species. We need to educate people about the environment, not mislead them. Study after study has demonstrated double-crested cormorants do not seriously affect fish stocks. They mostly eat species of fish of no commercial value and not favoured by sporting anglers. This is a horrible thing for Ontario. There are simpler and less horrific ways of controlling population of these birds. This is NOT the solution.