Animal groups protest coyote hunts
Lawyer hired to relay concerns to MNR
By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen January 13, 2011
Three animal welfare groups are asking Ontario to ban coyote hunting contests even as two Ottawa hunting groups are taking aim at the animals for the second year. The Osgoode Township Fish, Game and Conservation Club is running one hunting contest, with a new shotgun for a prize. As well, Al's Corner Store in Kinburn runs a "weigh-in" for coyotes: not directly a hunting contest, the store owner says, but one that results in hundreds of coyotes being shot or trapped.
Ontario hunting laws say it is an offence to "hunt for hire, gain or the expectation of gain," or to "induce another person" to do so. That, says Donna DuBreuil of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre, means you can't offer prizes for hunting. "They're illegal and we want the ministry to take action," she said. Her group, the Animal Alliance of Canada and the Canadian chapter of Born Free USA, have hired a lawyer to analyse the law and write to the Ministry of Natural Resources, asking it to intervene. "This is not hunting. This is a cull," DuBreuil said. "This is essentially going out like the wild west" and "uniformly killing animals.
"The coyote population has continued to expand, and we have to learn to live with them."
The owner of the Kinburn hunting supply store that runs one coyote event says the contest is not a hunting contest, but a chance to weigh coyotes and gather valuable data on their population. Hunters and trappers bring in coyotes for weighing. In return they receive tickets for a draw, said Al Mills of Al's Corner Store. He says the area suffers from an overpopulation of coyotes. But he said this isn't really a coyote hunting contest because contestants can bring in the coyote live. So far he said he has taken in "hundreds" of coyotes -- one of them alive in a cage and the rest dead. That contest continues until mid-March. Response among hunters "is amazing. We're over last year's numbers already." The draw prizes are donated by the hunting industry, Mills said, but he wouldn't say what they are. Last year both Ottawa coyote contests offered guns as prizes. The Osgoode contest costs $2 to enter. It advertises a chance to "win great prizes and help to keep our region safe and prosperous." --sounds like 1850 frontier mentality without regard for the facts about coyote response to culling--more problems then if you let the existing population alone!--blogger Rick
Ontario hunting laws say it is an offence to "hunt for hire, gain or the expectation of gain," or to "induce another person" to do so. That, says Donna DuBreuil of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre, means you can't offer prizes for hunting. "They're illegal and we want the ministry to take action," she said. Her group, the Animal Alliance of Canada and the Canadian chapter of Born Free USA, have hired a lawyer to analyse the law and write to the Ministry of Natural Resources, asking it to intervene. "This is not hunting. This is a cull," DuBreuil said. "This is essentially going out like the wild west" and "uniformly killing animals.
"The coyote population has continued to expand, and we have to learn to live with them."
The owner of the Kinburn hunting supply store that runs one coyote event says the contest is not a hunting contest, but a chance to weigh coyotes and gather valuable data on their population. Hunters and trappers bring in coyotes for weighing. In return they receive tickets for a draw, said Al Mills of Al's Corner Store. He says the area suffers from an overpopulation of coyotes. But he said this isn't really a coyote hunting contest because contestants can bring in the coyote live. So far he said he has taken in "hundreds" of coyotes -- one of them alive in a cage and the rest dead. That contest continues until mid-March. Response among hunters "is amazing. We're over last year's numbers already." The draw prizes are donated by the hunting industry, Mills said, but he wouldn't say what they are. Last year both Ottawa coyote contests offered guns as prizes. The Osgoode contest costs $2 to enter. It advertises a chance to "win great prizes and help to keep our region safe and prosperous." --sounds like 1850 frontier mentality without regard for the facts about coyote response to culling--more problems then if you let the existing population alone!--blogger Rick
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