To Whom It May Concern, My…

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Melodie and I took this time to write a letter of opposition to your proposal of establishing a hunting season for the double-crested cormorants in Ontario. As humans we are here to protect what land we have left and the flora/fauna that reside within. I must say I am extremely disappointed in the government for issuing this proposition. I would not (nor thousands of others as I have witnessed) allow it in a million years.

The fact that you claim these birds are "detrimental" to the fish population raises a few questions.

Firstly, there is NO concrete evidence you can provide that supports this. As EVERY living being NEEDS food to SURVIVE, these creatures are just living their life and we are being absolutely greedy and suggesting they do not have a right to eat? What about taking care of their babies? You suggest that the hunt can happen during their mating season/nesting season. You suggest that, because these birds "eat too many fish", that we have the right to murder them and leave their babies to starve and die? The babies suffer because we shoot their parents because we feel it necessary. Who says we should have that kind of power over another living creature? What kind of Country is this? I certainly cannot believe it is Canada.

A quote from the Animal Alliance, "The Government of Ontario says it is responding to concerns about too many cormorants, depleted fish stocks and environmental damage. But those concerns are largely just anecdotes, complaints from a small, radical segment of the fishing community, and unsubstantiated claims that were debunked long ago. There is no substantive body of evidence proving that cormorants are depleting fish stocks or causing any ecological problems whatsoever. "

If you would like to see the full article Animal Alliance has created so thoughtfully and brilliantly (and I highly suggest you do to fully understand how upsetting this is to so many people) please click this url: https://www.animalalliance.ca/campaigns/other-campaigns/double-crested-….

I am aware that many, many individuals residing in Canada (and specifically Ontario) are opposed to this animal cruelty. Enough is enough, listen to your citizens. I am disgusted to be writing this in 2018, fighting for animal rights.

Please take my words to heart. Please understand where we (all opposed to this ridiculous proposal) are coming from. We (the citizens) may not be the one signing the documents, however, there are A LOT of citizens who would gladly come together to protect OUR animals from OUR government. I hope this is not necessary.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for STOPPING this.