5. You “activists” get those cameras ready for our fall hunt on these invasive species. I cringe at the amount of woodland and farmland being lost to urban sprawl. Cormorants are now common and increasingly apparent. Few people consider cormorants to be edible. Who is complaining about these birds…the ones who have cottages…the ones who fish…just because a human is complaining does not mean we get rid of a species….this is so stupid…, So should the Lynx be shot because they are of no use…or how about the Warblers…better yet the Kingfishers…you comment is of no use…there are many things in this world that I could say get rid of because they are of no use…you being one of them…, Great points in the article and in comments. Professor Jim Quinn from McMaster University confirms that studies he has been involved with reveal that cormorants are feeding mostly on problem fish such as round goby and alewife. It’s disgusting that through their self created problems, they appoint themselves executioners when it is their lack of knowledge that created the issues in the first place and, as is the way of the human species, they can’t think beyond a bandaid solution and never learn from their mistakes.. I will be taking my shotgun when I am out fishing and shooting as many as I can. Using the cormorant as a scapegoat. There is no requirement for hunters to report what they’ve killed. I am an avid outdoors person and think the picture of the Double Breasted Cormorant eating a Goldfish is very ironic. Coming round a bend, he pointed to a group of cormorants drying their outstretched wings on a rock. I recently killed & butchered a whole cow for the first time and for anybody who has not had to do so I can relate that it was hard, hard disgusting work that took days. Have humans not destroyed enough wildlife already? What we really need is targeted control like they do in provincial and national protected areas with multiple tools – shooting, egg oiling, etc. Hunters everywhere should be extremely upset that this so-called HUNT is taking place. ON Melina. Wild Turkeys were not “seeded” into Ontario. They are not destroying whole ecosystems as some would have us believe. Conserving Nature and History: Who has the Authority for this Work? "Have you ever eaten a cormorant?" So the government’s pretence that hunter s ... Cormorants have long been maligned and persecuted in North America. The Government people didn’t really look at the scientific studies and went crashing ahead passing poor legislation. They do it with indigenous (bears, deer, birds, coyotes) and non-indigenous. I might add that the same kind of killing was done in the southeastern USA of Carolina Parakeets which were allegedly damaging and or destroying crops. And when Melina says “Ontario Nature does not oppose hunting that is sustainable and conducted in an ethical fashion”, I almost spit out my coffee. I was amazed, and asked him if they were not tough and fishy ... No, he said, because the fat was in and under the skin and he skinned the bird completely, and, I think, put it in a weak brine for some hours. At least, you will be able to say your piece and have the satisfaction that you just did not sit back and do absolutely nothing in a hunt which serves no useful purpose. I shot a few of them a few days ago and laid them out near a fox den I know about… There are foxes in the area and today when I checked they were all gone… Reduce, reuse, recycle…. In order to fly away from us it had to reduce its weight, so it coughed up 4 small fish that it had just caught. All are edible, but traditional game birds such … 4. The MNR in their infinite wisdom introduced Muskies. gtag('js', new Date()); If the government were serious about “protecting fish and wildlife habitat” it would focus its attention on halting the destruction wreaked by human activities rather than scapegoating cormorants. According to the Canadian Wildlife Service, “studies have repeatedly shown that in a natural environment, cormorants feed primarily on small, largely non-commercial, shallow-water fish.” Less than two percent of their diet consists of ‘sport fish’ such as lake trout or salmon. I will not be hunting these birds and I know of many others who won’t be as well. It is just a mess and the trees are all dying. If you need proof of the destructive nature of these birds just come and visit our lake… In my opinion, the approved legislation is a good first step…although the results will need to be monitored carefully… As I typed this, some folks on a pontoon boat are blasting away at them not to far from our dock… not pleasant! Myth: The law needs to change to protect property owners. Whatever draws in more property taxes right. Few people consider cormorants to be edible. They could also be used by companies to make pet food same as the invasive Asian Carp. About 500 cormorants live there now, having only moved in (or perhaps back) less than ten years ago. These ‘culls’ never work and always have consequences. Cormorants regurgitate pellets containing undigested parts of their meals such as bones. Growing up Cormorants were not in this area. Also, here are some scientific studies that we thought were informative and helped shape our opinion: That’s going to happen if people do not get up and say something. Our mandate is not to actively support hunting, but to ensure that the hunting that does occur is sustainable, humane and does not compromise the ecological health of wildlife habitats, populations or species.