I strongly object for the…

I strongly object for the reasons listed below:

The Government of Ontario's current proposal to introduce an open hunting season on Double-crested Cormorants from March 15 to December 31 each year has no basis in scientific knowledge and neglects the interests of a wide variety of citizens who interact with wildlife without killing it. Notably, lethal management of waterbirds does not address the root causes of fish population instability or decline, and directly contradicts current conservation measures at local, regional, national, and international levels.

The government's hunting proposal is gratuitous, irresponsible, and cruel. In particular, the proposal to allow hunters to kill 50 cormorants per day could feasibly permit the eradication of the entire species from the Great Lakes in a single year, assuming below average hunter engagement. More specifically, if only 1 in 100 Ontarian hunters each killed only 50 cormorants over an entire hunting season, this would still be enough to eradicate the species from the Great Lakes entirely. The Double-crested Cormorant is a native species to Ontario whose population has only recently recovered from human persecution and pollution-induced declines. This is no time to be stepping backwards. This species has a right to exist and feed on its native land, and the government has an ethical and legal responsibility to ensure its relative health.