Central Ontario Moose Survey Highlights
In 2017, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) undertook a survey of moose management in Central Ontario (WMU’s 41, 42 & 47) through its Insights online medium which allows feedback from many members and non-members alike. In this particular survey, 80% of respondents were members. We commend the OFAH for undertaking this survey and for making it public.
Apparently, 1,348 respondents supplied valuable contributions and 600 respondents included comments and concerns about MNRF moose management in Ontario. The OFAH Moose Survey should be available on their website: www.ofah.org/moose.
The survey has many interesting points about how moose management may be improved in Ontario. Although the survey is too lengthy to detail here, the feedback shows that 80% of respondents would favour a Calf Validation tag for WMU’s 41, 42 and 47.
The survey prompted concerns from some of our members to the OFAH. Some of the other comments from respondents to the OFAH survey:
“This will be the final straw for our hunting camp as we have been virtually blocked off from tags since 2001”
“Make calf validations tags mandatory for all WMU’s.”
Over 70% of the comments concerned the Indigenous harvest of moose, the unregulated nature of indigenous moose harvesting and the lack of moose harvest reporting. This, by far, was the most concerning element by respondents.
“…….without knowing the amount of indigenous moose harvest, we will never be able to manage moose in Ontario.”
“It is very important that our indigenous communities get on board, no matter what is decided.”
Other concerns:
“Reduce wolf/bear populations would greatly increase moose calf survival.”
“The bear population has to be decreased if the MNRF is serious about improving the moose population,”
“Aerial spraying of food sources must stop.”
There are many other comments and information. Check out the survey on their website.
Comments on this entry are closed.
How can you not get a moose, they are such big targets……. What you did not get a tag, I hunted with a remote outfitter in the area, and he had more than enough tags, you are from Northern Ontario and did not get one, a real shame
Dear Sir or Madam
I’m 78 years old and been a moose hunter since 1985, in 41 and 42 WMU areas. And we were always respectful of the hunting regulations.
I’m not here to complain, but to give you facts about moose hunting in our region.
I have been a resident of Noëlville for 67 years… now living in Sudbury.
1- When our group of 5 started to hunt moose in area 41 in the 80’s (north of River Valley), 625 total tags were given then.
Then it dwindled down to 125. Our game warden, then Mr. Clarke, used to visit us annually. We asked him if the diminution of the tags were due to less moose? He answers NO! There are even more moose than before!!
2- The permission to kill calves should be review. Why? I will you an example: I know of group of 19 hunters that killed 12 calves in one season. How? Very easy. With such a large group, it is easy to flush them out to a firing line. Knowing that black bears kill around 50% of calves and that hunters kill so many of them, soon there won’t be enough calves to replace the adult moose.
Two years ago, the 5 of us tried a run; 3 were walking and 2 waiting on firing line… well, we were very surprised that 5 adult moose shown up but not a single calf. Doesn’t that tell you something?
3- I know that the lottery is a money making thing. If you wouldn’t promise a least a calf tag, people wouldn’t buy a hunting license!
4- A group that also gives you trouble (or control you) is the animals lovers (SPCA). Remember when Jean Chretien was campaigning to become the prime minister of Canada? What did he introduced? When he won his election, he introduced the gun control law, or hunting gun law to be more specific…Why? Because SPCA made a donation to Chrétien’s campaign that was bigger than Esso Imperial… that information was written in black and white in an issue of Ontario Out of Doors magazine. Who else do they subsidize?
5- I also know that some status Indians sell moose… I know one in the Key River area! People who buy those moose are worse or as bad as the Indians who sells them.
6- Tags are diminishing for hunters but lodge owners seem to get their share every year!
7- When I was young, in the 40’s, we would see a lot of deer in Noelville, but rarely a moose. Because beaver trapping decreased, beavers dams have started to appeared everywhere in the nice cedar marshes of deer feeding areas; then moose population has started to grow, and in the 80’s, 42 tags were given. And the moose population hasn’t stop increasing, to point that we now see a lot more moose than deer. How many moose tags were given in 2017? Two only!!
In WMU 42, a lot more moose are killed on the highways than given tags!!! Are you receiving the wrong information about moose population??
Don’t get me wrong! I’m for conservation too! I don’t want to see the moose population dwindle to a small group.
Conclusion: I think that the animal lovers have too much to say about the hunting rules! They have the reins! They sure would like to see an end to hunting as well as fishing!
Hunting and fishing rules should be control by Northern Ontarians, where the wild life abound, and not by the big cities, like Toronto, where the animal lovers abound.
Hector Roy