Re the Double-crested…

Re the Double-crested Cormorant Slaughter

The return of cormorants, a native wildlife species, to the Great Lakes Basin is part of a natural process and should be celebrated. Cormorants are beneficial because their diet consists of very large numbers of primarily invasive fish, such as alewives and round gobies, as well as other non-commercial, non-forage species. The presence of cormorants benefits other colonial water birds, such as federally protected herons, egrets and pelicans, all of which are stable or growing populations where cormorants are found.

The mass killing of cormorants will force other bird species to vacate the colony sites they share. It will also create very real safety issues if hunters are permitted to discharge firearms throughout the spring, summer, and fall seasons when lakes and natural areas are populated by cottagers and tourists.

The mass killing being proposed by the Ontario government is a political response to anecdotes, unsubstantiated claims and complaints by a small group of radical fishermen, supported by special interest groups. There is no substantive body of scientific evidence supporting their position. Instead of making cormorants a scapegoat for environmental problems they have nothing to do with, attention should be given to addressing the issues that actually do affect fish populations and aquatic environments, such as climate change, pollution, shoreline and habitat destruction, over-fishing and a broad range of other issues.

I oppose the mass killing of cormorants as an unnecessary, outdated, environmentally damaging, and cruel proposal.