From a self proclaimed…

From a self proclaimed outdoorsman, hunter, trapper and steward of the land, I applaud the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for taking the initiative to implement a strategic plan to properly manage this species in our ecosystem.

In the past decade or so, it has become clear in Northern Ontario that these birds are becoming more and more prevailant on our water systems where they were never observed before. They are starting to nest and appear in staggeringly large numbers, competing with multiple other local species for the same (limited) food source.

In this day and age, it is clear that a lot of wildlife management decisions are based moreso on emotions than scientific facts, which is quite sad. This proposal to introduce a hunting season for these birds is an example of that. Scientifically, it is clear that these birds have become over populated to the point they are spreading into new environments where they have never been seen before, and need to be managed properly. It's a little upsetting that the MNRF even needs to "ask" for the public's permission to manage our resources. We know there are always large groups of people (oddly from the southern portion of the province who coincidentally have no connection to the land what so ever) that are offended by wildlife management practices.

Hopefully the MNRF values our wildlife and our abundant resources more than the emotions of our ill-informed majority of Ontario's population.

These birds needed to managed long ago, but better late than never I guess.

Thank you to the person/people involved at the MNRF in creating this proposal!