Re: EBR 013-4124: Proposal…

Re: EBR 013-4124: Proposal to establish a hunting season for double-crested cormorants in Ontario

It might be worth setting sights on expanding legitimate shooting ranges, but certainly not on setting up a free-for-all shooting gallery. There is no rationale for the proposed carnage on our waterways, throughout even the breeding season; for the collateral damage to other species; for the failure to responsibly manage population sustainability; and for the disregard of issues of public safety.

I strongly oppose the proposal to establish a hunting season for the double-crested cormorant. There is no scientific justification for this hunt. This wild native species has rebounded from historic lows in the 1970s and populations have been stable or declining since the 2000s.

I am aware, according to the Canadian Wildlife Service, that cormorants are not competing with commercial fishers as they feed primarily on small, largely non-commercial, shallow-water fish. Only a small percentage of their diet consists of “sport fish.”

Under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, concerned property owners already have recourse to harass, capture or kill cormorants if they’re causing property damage.

The extreme bag limit allowing an individual to kill 50 birds a day for nine-and-a-half months of the year, including the breeding season, is without precedent and could cause significant harm to this and other native wildlife species.

I urge you to abandon this ill-considered proposal.