Joey Payeur
A spokesman for the group representing the province’s outdoorsmen believes the Ministry of Natural Resources is jumping the gun.
Senior wildlife biologist Mark Ryckman of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) believes the provincial government had a knee-jerk reaction to statistics showing the moose population in Ontario has declined significantly since last year, including by as much as 60 percent in the Dryden region.
The MNR announced last week the number of moose tags issued this fall will be reduced by 18 percent—a move Ryckman said is far from a guaranteed solution to the problem.
“The factors are unknown right now,” stressed Ryckman, referring to the reasons for the decline.
“The concern of the O.F.A.H. is that licensed hunters are the only tool the MNR uses when there is a decline in populations,” he remarked.
“But there could be things happening like increased predation by wolves and bears, disease, poaching, and a larger aboriginal harvest than is known about.
“The O.F.A.H. is worried if the licensed moose hunters are not the reason for the decline, reducing the tag numbers is not going to help the moose population,” Ryckman added.
A decline in forestry activity and the MNR’s fire suppression strategy also could be having an impact, he said.
“Forest fires actually create good moose habitats,” Ryckman noted.
Locally, WMUs 9A and 9B will not be drastically affected, as the number of tags handed out only will dip from 132 last year to 128 this year.
That’s a vastly better situation than what’s being faced by moose hunters elsewhere.
In the extremely popular WMU 13 area around Thunder Bay, for example, tag numbers will plummet from 1,115 last year to just 125 this year.
Meanwhile, WMU 28 in northeastern Ontario will see its tag totals plunge from 457 in 2013 to a mere 30 this fall.
The reduction in tags also may derail the tradition of those moose-hunting contingents that meet the MNR’s guaranteed group size standard to partake in their usual practice of applying for and receiving one tag to share amongst them.
“It’s quite possible the tags will only be issued to individuals instead of groups,” warned Ryckman.
He also said the ripple effect of the tag reduction likely will be felt beyond the next hunting season.
“Generally speaking, moose populations don’t rebound quite as quickly as deer,” he noted.
“We could be in this kind of a situation for the next three-five years, I would bet.
“There’s also a lot of overlapping in your area of moose and deer populations,” Ryckman added.
“The deer are carriers of brainworm, which won’t kill the deer but it can be transferred to moose, which it does kill.”
Ryckman said the O.F.A.H. has raised its concerns to the government and discussions with the MNR are ongoing.
“We’re conservationists first,” he stressed.
“The preservation of the region is of the utmost importance to us.
“We’ll do our part,” Ryckman pledged. “But we don’t want the MNR to think they’re off the hook for looking for other factors.”
