Help protect raptors

Alert from Ontario Nature July 12 2011

Ontario Nature objects to a proposal put forward by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) that would allow the capture and use of wild raptors (birds of prey) for use in falconry practices to hunt small game.  The permit would apply to five species: red-tailed hawk, northern goshawk, Cooper’s hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, and merlin.  MNR recently posted the proposed permit under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry (EBR).

Ontario Nature, along with a number of our member clubs, is opposed to the taking of raptors from the wild and therefore does not support the proposed amendment.

Ontario Nature’s concerns are as follows:

1. Raptors are top-level predators.  The impact of their removal from the wild on prey populations is not fully understood.

2. We do no know if several of the raptor species listed above have fully recovered yet from historic declines as overall population trends are unclear due to lack of good data. 

3. Raptors continue to be exposed to numerous sources of pressure, including pesticide use on their wintering grounds, along their migration routes and in their breeding grounds in Ontario.  The impacts of pesticides on raptor populations are not yet fully understood.

4. It is important that we do not remove known healthy raptors from the wild while they still face threats such as habitat loss and collisions with buildings, wind turbines and other human-made structures.

5. Ontario Nature is concerned that the proposed policy would allow for the release of raptors back into the wild when they are no longer needed for falconry. Information is lacking in the proposal as to how the release of wild birds will be regulated or overseen to prevent disturbance to other raptor populations from disease or territorial disputes.

6. While Ontario Nature acknowledges that falconry is recognized as an ancient tradition dating back thousands of years in many parts of the world such as the Middle East and parts of Europe, this is not the case in Ontario. Arguments made in favour of taking raptors from the wild on this basis are irrelevant.

7. Falconry is currently an activity practiced in Ontario using raptors bred in captivity. MNR’s rationale for allowing raptors to be taken from the wild provides no evidence of a need to do so but is based on providing falconers with experiences they seek. Any take from the wild must be supported by a demonstrable need.

Make your voice heard! Let MNR know that you oppose the taking of raptors from the wild.  Please register your comments on the proposed amendment.

 You can use the points above to draft a letter and post it online by July 18, 2011 by clicking here.

Or send a hard copy to the address below:

Tamara Gomer

Wildlife in Captivity Specialist

Ministry of Natural Resources

Policy Division

Biodiversity Branch

Wildlife Policy Section

300 Water Street

PO Box 7000

Peterborough Ontario

K9J 8M5 

Phone: (705) 755-1999 

Fax: (705) 755-1957

Be sure to reference the EBR registry number: 011-3058.

Please send a copy of your letter to Ontario Nature at 366 Adelaide St., W., Suite 201, Toronto, ON M5V 1R9 or e-mail to anneb@ontarionature.org.