I am vehemently opposed to…

I am vehemently opposed to this proposal to list cormorants as game birds and establish a hunting season for them. I participated in research that took place on bird islands where cormorants nested. Yes, their guano killed vegetation in their colony, but the devastation of flora was restricted just to their nesting area- the vast majority of the surface area on these islands. While walking through the cormorant colonies, it became clear to me that these birds were eating many different kinds of fish, including fish that most fishermen would actually WANT the birds to eat, like round gobies. The cormorants were also eating zebra mussels, and other Great Lakes invasive species.

Cormorants are absolutely essential to the Great Lakes ecosystem. The damage done by the cormorants pales in comparison to the damage that we would be doing to our Great Lakes environment if we started hunting these birds. Other birds nest right alongside cormorants, so wiping out their colonies could be devastating to other bird species in the Great Lakes. This proposal would allow for hunters to decimate colonies in a matter of just days. This should never be something that we, as humans, do to creatures who share our ecosystem.

I urge the Ontario government to drop this proposal entirely, but even reconsideration of the terms of the proposal would be a good start.