The Government’s proposal…

The Government’s proposal would have terrible consequences to wildlife and natural ecosystems in Ontario, not to mention the wholesale, uncontrolled, impossible to monitor, slaughter of cormorants.

The Government says it is responding to concerns about too many cormorants, depleted fish stocks and environmental damage. But those concerns are largely just anecdotes, complaints and unsubstantiated claims that were debunked long ago.

In reality, cormorants are not overabundant, their numbers are relatively modest, have stabilized and are dropping in some areas. The entire North American double-crested cormorant population is estimated to be less than the population of Toronto, with only about 125,000 birds in the lower Great Lakes.

This proposal is not science or fact based. It is emotional and political and could result in wiping out cormorants in most of the province.