I am opposed to the…

I am opposed to the establishment of a proposed Double-Crested Cormorant (DCCO) hunting season for the following below reasons. I should like to add I am not opposed to hunting and feel it has a legitimate place as a sport.

1. The proposal as written is not based on scientific evidence that it is necessary to have a hunting season. Similarly, there has been no scientific rigour applied to this proposal. For example, what does success look like? What does failure look like? What will be the follow-up strategy for success or failure, if any? How are either outcomes measured?

2. It does not make sense to categorize the DCCO as a "game" bird if nothing is being done with the dead bird. To leave the dead carcass to rot is inhumane and goes beyond any idea of sport. It also looks badly on hunters that they would hunt an animal in such a cavalier way.

3. It is unethical and barbaric to hunt any animal in a breeding season unless extraordinary circumstances exist. I do not see that extraordinary circumstances exist in this proposal. In fact, there is a provision in current legislation for landowners affected by DCCO nesting activities to be able to hunt them under extreme situations. This would seem to me to negate the necessity for further action to be taken.

4. There is a significant risk that birds other than the DCCO will be mistaken for the DCCO and shot in error. This includes the Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Scoter species, and Eider species.