BOUNTY OF BLOOD: Ontario’s ministry allows store to illegally award cash and prizes to hunters who kill the heaviest coyotes
The Ontario ministry isn’t enforcing its own Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, which says that a person shall not hunt or induce another person to hunt for 'gain or the expectation of gain'.
BRENDAN KENNEDY: An annual coyote-hunting contest hosted by a hunting outfitter in Belleville, Ont., is drawing the ire of animal rights activists who say the contest — which awards cash prizes — is a clear violation of provincial conservation laws banning the incentivized killing of animals.
But Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, which governs hunting in the province, says the contest run by Chesher’s Outdoor Store is legal. “Coyote populations are stable and secure across Ontario and there are no sustainability concerns with the province’s coyote population,” the ministry said in an unattributed statement in response to questions for this story.
Those who oppose the contest say the ministry isn’t enforcing its own laws. They point to Section 11 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, which says that unless authorized by the minister, a person shall not hunt or induce another person to hunt for “gain or the expectation of gain”…
“If they’re going to reward someone for killing wildlife, that very clearly seems to be applicable under Section 11,” said Michael Howie, spokesperson for The Fur-Bearers, an environmental charity. Howie said the ministry needs to better explain why it’s not enforcing Section 11. “If they’re not willing to enforce a clear law I think there’s a whole lot of other questions that are going to come up”…
Chesher’s, which has been running the contest every February since at least 2018, offers $2,500 in cash and merchandise prizes to the hunters who kill the heaviest coyotes… In previous years the contest also included a prize for most coyotes killed, but Chesher wrote on Facebook last year that they had to exclude that prize after consulting with the ministry because it was determined to be “promoting a bounty,” which is also illegal under Section 11…
Lesley Sampson, executive director of Coyote Watch Canada, a wildlife advocacy group, said the contest is unethical and should be shut down. “This isn’t about folks going out and hunting ethically, sustainably,” she said. “This is incentivizing and glorifying killing an animal.”
Coyote Watch Canada and The Fur-Bearers are encouraging individuals opposed to the contest to contact Rickford and their local MPP, and call on the government to “put a stop to coyote killing contests in Ontario.” They said more than 2,000 people have signed on.
Ethical questions aside, Sampson said, the contest is a “flagrant” violation of the province’s own laws and the ministry hasn’t adequately explained why it’s not enforcing Section 11. “This is about public trust and an expectation that our government enforce their own regulations”…
The ministry said it has “reviewed the matter” and no charges have been laid. It did not respond to a follow-up question asking to clarify how offering cash prizes would not qualify as inducing another person to hunt “for gain,” which is prohibited under the act. Neither Minister Greg Rickford nor any other ministry representative was made available for an interview. SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEOS: