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https://archive.org/details/resource...5onta/page/n65
wish I’d have seen these populations , I heard about them from all the older generation , there was still lots of them when I started hunting but I’ve seen a steady decline since then , to the point of very few around now
Thats an interesting read. How did you find that document? I doubt the MNR has the funding to do studies like that nowadays.
It seems like the MNR doesn’t even care about the European hare!
They don't. Their marching orders during the McGuinty/Wynne era were that native species at risk were to get their full attention. Non-native but naturalized and ecologically benign species such as European Hare and Ring-necked Pheasant were dropped altogether.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackhunter
Lots of googling lol , I enjoy reading wildlife management stuffQuote:
Originally Posted by cricket
That's 100% correct ninepointer the introduced species like the Gray partridge, Ring neck pheasant and especially the European Hare got the short end of the stick with out any doubt!!!!!!
That's a lot of jackrabbits...... boy, I have not seen one or tracks from one in over 20yrs and I do a lot of fence walking during my coyote hunts....The last jack I shot was probably 25 years ago.... wish they would make a comeback.
Why should they care about non-native invasive species? Just because they are fun to hunt or good to eat does not mean they should be here, but then again people will come on here and complain about the movement east of the coyote and how it should be eradicated but yet we should welcome feral pigs because we can eat them, you cannot have it both ways.Quote:
Originally Posted by ninepointer
Good read, thanks for finding this! Apparently, fox was the only 4-legs treat for Jacks back then.
Back in the 60,s , we used to hunt in the Stratford, Sebringville area for jacks , it would be an extremely rare day that 6 of us would not have at least 2 jacks for each of us.
I’m a little north of there , trap plenty in that area , like you have said Perth county used to have lots of rabbits , not anymore unfortunatelyQuote:
Originally Posted by jaycee
Still hares in the swampsQuote:
Originally Posted by trappermatt
I started hunting them when I first got my lic in the mid 60's. Dad and I hunted with a group that did jack drives in Perth and Huron Cty. Back then it was legal to sell jacks, 50 cents for ones with rifle holes to mink farms and a $1.00 for ones shot with shotguns at the stock yards. I remember a CO helped us keep jacks from crossings a road while we did a drive. We were never checked by a CO or had issues with trespassing. The daily limit was the same back then as it is now. I have not seen a jack in two yrs pushing yotes, but I did see a fresh track this month. MNR has no interested in jacks numbers.
They [ snowshoe/varying hare] are also on the decline, now where near as plentiful as they used to be.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
Yes, varying hares, they still exist in the swamps, the thick swamps that are almost too thick to pass through. The numbers may not be as high as they used to be but they are heavily cyclic too.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaycee
The ash die off is changing a lot of things in that area with the swamps, what they looked like 10 years ago is not what they look like now.
My dad is down in Perth East, I have first hand knowledge of the varying hare and cottontail numbers down there, as well as the coyotes.
Saw 1 pheasant on a deer hunt a long time ago and a huge European Hare while deer hunting another year, nothing like the numbers we saw when going hunting for the big old bunnies in Grey County.
It seems as though Perth East has some of everything but not a lot of anything, fair numbers of all game animals.
I've only seen a Jack once in Lindsay
The mid winter thaws are also hard on hares. No snow makes them stand out like a sore thumb. Easy targets for yotes and hawks. Still lots of hare around just have to dig a little deeper.
I worked with a guy who was born in 1940. He showed me pictures of him as an 8 year old boy, sitting in the back "rumble seat" of his uncle's Model A Ford. He has a double barrel shotgun in his hands, and he's packed into the seat with close to 40 European hare. All you can see is the tip of the hair on his head and the barrel of the gun. The rest is a solid six foot pile of "rabbits"!. His father and a group of 5-6 farmers used to group hunt the farms around Sandford, Leaksdale, Uxbridge, Lindsay. They'd never use dogs. Just walked the treed fence lines with two guns sitting at the end of the fence. He remembers seeing 6-8 hare running ahead of you at the same time ! There were no coyotes back then, but fox numbers were high. Boy the times have changed. Coyotes are everywhere and gone are the fence lines.
The New Brunswick MNR has stated that New Brunswick does not promote hunting.Why would the MNRF in Ont be any different? Native or non native species does not make a difference in policy,only in the stories they tell.
do not remember seeing a jack track in snow in long time. in windsor area back in 60,s and 70,s it was not uncommon to see 30 to 40 a day while we hunted cottontails with are bows. no one hardly shot them they were to heavy to carry,and we did not like the strong taste. they are only in our memories now,plus you never saw a coyote back then also.
Ah yes, that's the joy of being old. You remember an abundance of jacks and cottontails out there..... before the coyotes hit ON.
Stuffed and roasted like a turkey, great tasty eating ! :goodstuff: