This is a joke, we’re being…

This is a joke, we’re being forced to do the Ministry’s job and having it shoved down our throat. This started when the Liberals first gained power and has gotten progressively worse. Most hunters that I know already begrudgingly filled out these reports for fear of losing hunting privileges. While getting input from hunters is important, forcing them could create bigger issues with some filing false reports which will skew your data. A better idea might be to go back to a previous era when conservation officers were more than just “tax collectors” (a la Dalton McGuinty) and resume the practice of them submitting field field observations they kept in their journals. That along with aerial surveys was the way it wasn’t once done. I was explained that by some retired conservation officers. It was a much better system than relying on reports from hunters to be reviewed by a biologist who never leaves the office.
The increased mandating of Hunter reporting along with ever increasing license fees has alienated many hunters to the point of asking why should they cooperate? We are being charged more for the MNRF to do less and being fined (no more warnings) for the most minor of offences. It’s all about taking money from our pockets and the MNRF fulfilling increasingly less of their mandate.
Time for a show of faith from the MNRF, no fines, the people who aren’t submitting them don’t agree with it, if you force them you’ll undoubtedly start receiving more false data as their way of expressing their thoughts.
Most hunters don’t mind assisting, but they do mind carrying the brunt of the load for a Ministry they view as having let them down, both in hunting and fishing circles as many hunters are anglers as well.
You’ve lost the respect of a generation of hunters an this proposal will only to cause you to lose the respect of new hunters. You have a credibility problem as does the OFAH and you need to fix it going forward. This is not the way.