As a hunter, I believe the…

As a hunter, I believe the suggested bag limit and season for the proposed cormorant hunt to be over generous, especially in combination with an amendment to our current game regulations modifying wanton waste laws to allow for the spoilage of the carcasses. I believe what hunters should classify as game, is meat in which we consume, allowing spoilage goes against just that.

The three of these things together constitute in my mind, and a lot of others, something similar to a cull, but where hunters will bear the most of the social and economics costs.

If the season was reduced to the fall, as with the rest of out game, I believe the bag limit would be appropriate. If the bag limit was reduced to something more comparable to geese, I believe the season would be appropriate, and maybe even the spoilage laws.

If the birds are of such nuisance, and inedibility, then why not use wildlife management professionals such as the MNR, to organize a cull for the birds in target areas where overabundance is an issue? The MNR estimates a hunting season will have a neutral effect on the birds after all.