I am in favour of the…

I am in favour of the proposed changes to regulations surrounding double-crested cormorants; however, I have 3 primary points that I feel should be considered.

1. Establish quantitative regional population management goals. If the ultimate purpose of having a "hunting" season for double-crested cormorants is to reduce their overall population numbers, than it is critical that the MECP establishes clearly defined goals for this objective.

2. The wording should be changed to call this population management and not hunting. Hunting in Ontario, and across Canada is being given a bad name and many people already believe that the people who participate in hunting have a desire to kill animals. This over shadows the true hunting purpose for many people: high-quality meat and closeness to nature. If the cormorant season continues as proposed, with wasting of animals the ultimate goal, this further darkens the feelings around hunting, particularly those who are not hunters themselves. Relisting this season as a population management season, or other similar name, would better represent the true nature of the activity.

3. Regulations surrounding the killing of cormorants must be tightly controlled and enforced. There are thousands of cormorants around the areas that I typically fish and boat each summer. That being said, I would prefer to see hundreds of living birds than dozens of dead birds lining the shores of lakes and waterways. Furthermore, with the hunting season being open through the warm summer months, firearm safety must be the number 1 priority as this is when there are the highest number of people enjoying the environment, and the majority of those would be unfamiliar with hunting, especially when cormorant hunting will be conducted out of boats.

All in all, I agree that steps should be taken to reduce the number of cormorants throughout Ontario, but management and safety must be put forth as a priority to ensure the continued use of environmental areas and enjoyment of wildlife for all Ontarians.