If cormorants are truly a…

If cormorants are truly a threat and biological concern in Ontario, then deal with them a balanced biological management treatment, having full regard to other wildlife that inhabit these geographic landscapes seasonally.

I do not support putting the burden of culling these populations through sport hunting opportunities and onto the backs of Ontario small game hunters.

If specific populations require reductions then considerations should be made to spray eggs at key times of the year where colonies pose a threat to fisheries resources or sensitive ecological habitat.

If needed this requires support, manpower and funding to do and should be set as a government priority to do.

If cormorants are around and accessible during fall waterfowl seasons, then open the season for them to hunters if they wish to shoot and include them in their daily bag limits. Allowing them to be shot as sport in spring and summer is going to cause adverse public reaction from the non-hunting public and is irresponsible. Wait for the first images of nests with chicks still in and adults on the ground to be posted on the internet. Not good.

I also question, what waterfowl hunter would waste money on ammunition, fuel and more importantly their time to shoot these things. They likely do not decoy well, they are likely very hard to kill with steel shot, are not good table fare(likely tasting worse than a merganser), and are likely full of contaminants from what they eat in their diets.

Allowing an individual to kill 50 of these is ludicrous and is only going to tarnish the image of hunters in the eyes of the general public and create conflict.

This initiative is not well thought out and needs to be rethought in its entirety!!

I do not support it at all.