Where's the moose you say??

[DanO]

Q. OK nobody else is asking so what is the proof of the proof as Chretien would say that the said calf was killed by a FN hunter.

Well it could be a non-FN but then it would have been poaching. It was a very fresh hide! It's an assumption based on the brazen way it was placed (Maximum visibility). The CO didn't even respond to my information. I can accept it being a FN kill (sort of) but I take exception to the disposal of the hide in such a public area.

[Foxx]

Because of my age-- 67 -- I would not like a full closure of the moose hunt for 5 years, but our camp doesn't shoot cows or calves so I would support a bull only hunt for a few years. The only problem with this is the outfitters in the north need the income to pay the bills from late summer to the opening of bear hunting in the spring.

[fratri]

Because of my age-- 67 -- I would not like a full closure of the moose hunt for 5 years, but our camp doesn't shoot cows or calves so I would support a bull only hunt for a few years. The only problem with this is the outfitters in the north need the income to pay the bills from late summer to the opening of bear hunting in the spring.

I hear you but if something drastic doesn't get done, my son may never see a live moose in this province, never mind be able to hunt one.... As far as income for outfitters go, should not even be considered (very short sighted)...

I say it should be shut down to everyone until populations rebound. How long can we wait before it becomes too late to save our moose herd...

Ontario is such a big beautiful province, who would have thought our moose herd would be lost.

[JBen]

If you want an eye opener get in a plane on a fly in somewhere. The amount of logging and access is "insane". Thousands upon thousands of acres/hectares that very few would have been hunting 40 years ago, are now very accessible.
How many lakes are in trouble, need constant stocking?

Yet every time the MNR closes off a logging road to motorized vehicles, the public blows a gasket. There's a fight right now over the Algonquin Land claim. Those who feel the roads should be closed, temporary bridges taken out, and the ALgonquins who want them left as is. No different than us.
funny that.

I doubt anyone really knows what the cause is, or primary cause. If the MNR could "at least" explain their decisions, the reasoning behind them, in a way that makes sense, where the logic can be seen without the politics. Generate reports on various things, be it numbers of Moose, or Deer, or XYZ..As is, theres no current data that Im aware of. That might help.

Because currently it most certainly appears as though the left hand doesnt know what the right hand is doing, and the brain centre doesnt know what either is doing, or it doesnt listen.

[trimmer21]

OK,I'll zip up my Nomex suit and fire this off for comment. A 5 year "Bulls only" selective harvest system with a $10 application fee,heavy restrictions for ATV use and total motor vehicle bans in areas where Moose population is the lowest or most at risk in the same manner as western Provinces,return southern Ontario to a 5 day hunt every second year,eliminate all Wolf/Coyote licensing and remove all township wolf/coyote restrictions where they now exist and eliminate ALL non-resident Moose hunters for 5 years.

[Gilroy]

Well it could be a non-FN but then it would have been poaching. It was a very fresh hide! It's an assumption based on the brazen way it was placed (Maximum visibility). The CO didn't even respond to my information. I can accept it being a FN kill (sort of) but I take exception to the disposal of the hide in such a public area.

Fair enough Dan.

I,am not in favor of a moratorium unless the FN also do there part to clean up their act in relation to over harvesting because they are still part of the problem and that,s being acknowledged by ethical FN hunters on many forums.

[Horridfiber101]

Likely this is broader than an FN issue.

But is there any reason that as a group, they could not report their annual harvest ?
Seems we need to baseline for any success to happen.
I would think that knowing the total harvest in of this resource in any given year would be valuable info for the biologist

[skull]

Short little story here as to the reality of the north. Plug your ears if you don't like the future we are facing. Took a deer into the butcher in the Sudbury area. Got talking about business and they said how busy they have been. They did 69 moose and only 3 of them were tagged by licensed hunters. Also was told how two other shops did 44 and 48. Long and short of it I felt sick to my stomach after leaving. In a WMU where there are less then 20 tags available and if you take in the 3 surrounding wmus there's less then 60 total it goes to show you just how staggering the problem is.

The FN harvest in the north is out of control and the main reason why are populations are declining to record lows. I don't care if you're purple red yellow white or blue, an abuse of the resource is an abuse and these so called "keepers of the earth" are keeping everything. Garden River FN near the Sault went into a moose yard last winter near ranger lake and shot 19 moose in a couple hours.

The brunt of the changes regarding moose tags and quotas are affecting the average joe while there's absolutely zero co-operation towards a sustainable population by the FN. I have many FN friends and even they are upset about the current system in place and how the system is being played. It's a crock that all this goes on under the disguise of "traditional harvest or treaty rights". If that's the way you wanna spin it then use traditional means and traditional weaponry. The problem is there are thousands of people in this province that hold power and still believe that there are large groups of FN struggling to survive in the wilds and living off the the land. I will agree there are some in the far far north but most are integrated as much as myself and look to hunting and fishing as a hobby and passion rather then a necessity.

The govt/ofah/special interest groups can blame climate change/bears/wolves/harsh winters/ticks but everyone beats around the bush when it comes to the real issue at hand. It's time all parties(govt/ofah/FN/hunters in general) sit down and figure this nonsense out before it's too late. Our children guaranteed won't be hunting moose in the province of Ontario and our generation may see an end to the practise too. It's time for mandatory reporting for everyone, better counts, science based decisions, and a change in everyone's attitudes if the moose is going to continue to roam here.

It's not just Ontario that has issues as I was listening to CBC radio tonight and they were having a discussion about Metis spotlighting moose in Manitoba and the declines there as well.

My post is not intended to bash any group/govt/organization, its to bring awareness to people with their heads in the sand. Time to wake up and take some steps towards a brighter future. If I don't hunt moose ever again I'm fine with it, but it would be nice to show the grandchildren what a moose looks like in real life 

i know alll about this and its been happening every year, here is how you bring back to the moose population
quota for native people
mandatory report within 24 hours
shoot as many bears wolf and coyotes you want
no motoried vehicles off main road during hunting not even to retrive anaimal
1 week of riffle and 2 weeks of archery for bulls only
and the most important heavy fines for poaching starting $50000 and up

[jaycee]

OK,I'll zip up my Nomex suit and fire this off for comment. A 5 year "Bulls only" selective harvest system with a $10 application fee,heavy restrictions for ATV use and total motor vehicle bans in areas where Moose population is the lowest or most at risk in the same manner as western Provinces,return southern Ontario to a 5 day hunt every second year,eliminate all Wolf/Coyote licensing and remove all township wolf/coyote restrictions where they now exist and eliminate ALL non-resident Moose hunters for 5 years.

Sounds very reasonable to me , can anyone remember when moose season south of Northbay /Sudbury was open only ebry other year ?

[delmer]

From a hunter's standpoint, I think a bull only draw could work, but only if they did it like the elk draw - $10 application fee to apply, and then buy a tag if drawn. What I don't think will work is the reduction in licensing revenue for the MNR for a system like this.