Distress Call - What's happening to our moose? OOD Hunting Annual

Understand it would suck.. But what about going an elk style draw? But with gaurenteed group sizes etc.. Using a small entry free.. $10 or so.. Then if you have a gurenteed group your.group buys a tag for $50

Well for one, it would be lost revenue. The elk draw is so small its insignificant. The moose draw in its current format generates a lot of revenue.

And we know when it comes to the government it's all about the $$$$$$$$'s

Well sure it is. Given the massive cuts MNR has experienced lately I cant really blame them for not going with a strategy which would reduce revenue significantly.

Ive got no issues paying my $50 for a calf tag. Now, I only travel 30 minutes from home, and most of the time have a group large enough for a bull tag, so I know im different then the majority of the provinces moose hunters. Maybe if I traveled 12 hours I'd be different.

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Originally Posted by blasted_saber

What is the distribution of those tags? Ontario is an enormous province and the addition of tags in an area that can support wont have any effect on the moose in an area that can't.

From the article you posted above

"Overall, however, the moose population in Ontario is regarded as healthy, with a population estimated at about 105,000, accounting for about 10 per cent of the North American population."

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New provincial estimate is 82,600 moose not 105,000. I also know that MNR has target for bull to cow ratios in a population. Some WMUs have populations that are heavily skewed towards cows so when the MNR sometimes allocates more cow tags to bring the bull:cow ratio back into their ideal range.

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Originally Posted by rick_iles

I believe the rationale for allowing the calf harvest was that a high percentage of calves are taken in their first year by preditors, or otherwise don't make it through their first winter. I recall the figure of. 40% mortality the first year. I guess the idea was/is to allow hunters to take those calves, as opposed to predation. My opinion is the predators will still take their 40% of the calves, regardless of what percentage are taken by hunters. Like previously posted, calves are harder to hunt. Our group has only taken three calves in over 35 years. We don't target calves, and have only happened upon the three we did get. By allowing every moose licence to come with a calf game seal, it increases hunting opportunities, creating more revenue, in my opinion !

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That's right - in one of Bruce Ranta's previous articles he states that when the selective harvest system was brought in, the MNR had to create an unregulated calf harvest system in order to sell the selective harvest system to hunters. The theory (which is still supported for many populations) is that hunters would harvest some animals that would die otherwise, so there would be no impact on the population in the end. However, there are some units where hunters take a boatload of calves every year, so calf mortality is almost certainly additive in those areas. But that's not a universal truth across all WMUs - it's only an issue in some areas.

Our group would gladly trade our 14 calf tags for one adult tag (no guaranteed group size in our WMU this year).

Seems ridiculous that after two "comprehensive" moose tag allocation reviews (1992 & 2010) by the MNR(F), the discussion and issues remain virtually unchanged.

"Ive got no issues paying my $50 for a calf tag."

Wait till you pay 50 bucks and get no tags! I hunt in area 48 and there has been a few weeks were our group of seven gets to hunt grouse only

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Originally Posted by cricket

"Ive got no issues paying my $50 for a calf tag."

Wait till you pay 50 bucks and get no tags! I hunt in area 48 and there has been a few weeks were our group of seven gets to hunt grouse only

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Well if that was the case I wouldnt hunt moose. But for most of us it is not the case. Im VERY fortunate to have been born into an established camp where I can hunt moose, bear, and deer with some expectation of success and tags.

Never mind bears, wolves, calf tags and cow harvest. The unregulated and unlimited native/métis harvest is certainly a larger factor