Comment on pig control in…

Comment on pig control in Ontario.
Why on earth is hunting a pig prohibited? A pig running at large should be treated as a ground hog or a crow…it is fair game to be shot any time by a person with a hunting licence. I have seen the wording here create policy and laws that try not to offend the offender and limit that actions of sportspersons who have a vested interest in the health of the natural environment! It would appear that you are allowing a person to do something dangerous as long as they try to avoid a catastrophe. History has shown that if Man is involved there will be problems. Making it unlawful to release a pig means it must be proven that the person released it. There is no violation if it escapes. Allowing people to have pigs will result in escapes….just look at history! There should be no Eurasian wild boars or hybrids possessed in Ontario period. If during the transition to this, there is escapement by owners, the fact that they escaped must be made unlawful….such as wording in FWCA. However clearly the problem here is having someone report that it escaped. And then there are the people that you don’t know about that have pigs and let them escape. And since they will escape, they must be made generally huntable as are groundhogs. Are you are truly concerned about your responsibilities to the people of Ontario!
Comment on Prohibited Invasive Species
I suggest there is NO general understanding by the public or even your enforcement officers as to what these species are. By prohibiting them you simply have a means to deal with someone who is intentionally in violation, and that is something. That said how long will it be before Restricted Invasive species are on the Prohibited list. If it is a threat to natural Ontario why isn’t it prohibited!!! You CAN’T draw a line around a park or conservation area and expect the species itself to comply….or people for that matter….they don’t know what these species are. And even if done unintentionally….it’s done!
Comment on watercraft and cleaning
All looks good EXCEPT your use of reasonable measures to remove aquatic plants from the watercraft, watercraft equipment, and any vehicle or trailer used to transport the watercraft! Either the aquatic plants are there or not! This is unenforceable wording. As well the exemption for transporting in a live well for tournament fishermen to weigh in stations is something I believe you are not allowed to do under law. I know from experience that MNR has let the tournament fishing industry influence fisheries management in Ontario for years. MNR has shown an interest in creating permissive fishing laws that cater to this industry. The effect on the general health of the fishery appears not to have been assessed by any reports coming from MNR. Case in point the use of live wells and fish culling. I have not seen any assessment on the impacts of this on the fishery, either positive or negative. For years there has been an interest in MNR licencing this industry simply for the purpose of knowing the extent of the activities in the industry, and to allow by condition, certain provisions that may otherwise be in violation of laws of general application. I understand that fish tournaments are still not a licenced activity. Another case in point is the transportation of live fish. It is unlawful under the OFR’s yet MNR appears to turn a blind eye to this for tournaments….as evidenced in your recommendation that water in live wells need not be drained if fish are being transported to a weigh in station. Your allowance of this is ultra vires to the federal fishery regulations. Additionally, after weigh in…wherever that may be, where will the water be dumped? Your proposal is silent on that and without tournament licencing to prescribe what happens to the water, it may go into another water body.
As a general comment, it is IMPERATIVE that you use wording that is descriptive and measureable in any and all policy changes if you have any hope of impacting positively the natural environment of Ontario as you claim is your purpose.