I believe most hunters,…

I believe most hunters, fisherman, and cottage owners can agree that something needs to be done about the cormorant population due to the fisheries and property damage they are causing. But I do not agree with the proposal being put forward by the MNRF. This proposal is simply doing harm to the reputation of hunters. The television stations have already picked up this story and interviewing some bird lovers and naturalists who are using this management proposal to portray hunters as trigger-happy bird killers. The proposal should not in any way be called a hunt. Enabling hunters to assist in cormorant population management is fine , providing it is called exactly what it is, and that is a cull. An option could be to add double-crested cormorants to the the list of species in Section 5(2) of the "Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act", and allow depredation permits to be issued.
The MNRF needs to engage in a media campaign to inform and educate the public on the reason for the need to take action to reduce the cormorant population. The MNRF should not be using hunters to short-circuit a necessary management process that should include educating the public and managing the cormorant population without associating the term "hunt" in their proposal.