MNRF STill Squeezing Us For Pennies

[greatwhite]

As I said you are very disconnected from real life. I hunted while in College to put food on my table.

I have hunted in the past to put food on the table. Again you seem to think hunting is only for the wealthy. You are so removed from real life.

The real poor do not hunt, they cannot afford it. Yes hunting is for those with disposable income, and time. GW twice in your last post you questioned my intellect, please stop it. Moderators is that enough warning?

[TroutSlayer]

The real poor do not hunt, they cannot afford it. Yes hunting is for those with disposable income, and time. GW twice in your last post you questioned my intellect, please stop it. Moderators is that enough warning?

We're watching and infractions will be given out when warranted.

[bush24]

Past generations hunted to feed their families because is was financially feasible and could not buy the equivalent beef. Hunting today is a hobby filled with ethics, regulations and pride of environment, harvesting game is a bonus. I recall taking my turkey course and the instructor telling us; "anyone who thinks hunting turkeys will save you $, please leave." That's when I knew things had changed.

[Noseyarentcha]

I want hunting and fishing to be affordable to everyone. I would not like to see my anyone who has a passion for hunting, be unable to afford it. The reality of the situation is that not everyone always has extra disposable income....especially at Christmas.

[glen]

Hunting is expensive so it's ok if it costs you a little more?

[greatwhite]

Many in Northern Ontario and even parts of eastern Ontario would disagree.

Past generations hunted to feed their families because is was financially feasible and could not buy the equivalent beef. Hunting today is a hobby filled with ethics, regulations and pride of environment, harvesting game is a bonus. I recall taking my turkey course and the instructor telling us; "anyone who thinks hunting turkeys will save you $, please leave." That's when I knew things had changed.

[Noseyarentcha]

Hunting is expensive so it's ok if it costs you a little more?

Well glen, it appears that, with the rising cost of everything in this world, hunting costs are going up as well.
Imagine being the guy who has to choose between a christmas present for his kid or his hunting license. Or the mother that has to choose between monthly payments for her kids braces and a hunting license. There are always those that easily can afford the extras and those who cannot.
Unfortunately.
Hunting is not a cheap game.
Fortunate are those who can afford to hunt, vacation, ski, golf, horseback ride plus provide the basics of food, shelter and clothing for their children.
It is what it is.
All we can do is hope that people who like to hunt, regardless of income, can.
The rich haven't completely taken over this game and as long as we keep the fees within reach of everyone....they never will.
It doesn't take a high IQ to see what is happening in the world around us. It requires an open mind, a touch of compassion and some empathy.
I hope we never forget that.
If you can do no good, then do no harm.
The poor have it hard enough as it is. I think it would be a disgrace to this country if only the rich could play this game....and I am certain the majority of war veterans, with low incomes, would echo my words.
A little compassion is in order.

[Gilroy]

The real poor do not hunt, they cannot afford it. Yes hunting is for those with disposable income, and time. GW twice in your last post you questioned my intellect, please stop it. Moderators is that enough warning?

Yeh I tend to agree with you the real poor generally are not out there hunting. There is a cost in gas to get to a hunting spot, there is a cost in time, there is a cost for basic hunting equipment. I don,t see poor people hunting up my way and its a poor area.The truly poor in town are on welfare and are crammed into small rooming houses. They are deciding if they will use their hydro to heat their units or actually buy groceries. The working poor like local laborers/loggers generally try and get out for a few days for the deer hunt but that,s about it.

If your talking Northern Ontario with crown land in your backyard and no expenses other than walking into the bush I am sure some poor people still manage to feed their families by taking partridge,rabbits. In this day and age most people can get to a food bank to supplement themselves and are not going to starve to death. A Northern trapper probably is the best example of a poor person still
living off the land, but hunting per say is not a poor persons game.

[JBen]

If you ignore initial outlay of equipment, which can be done "cheaply" be it used guns/bows/clothing and if taken care of is amortized over a lifetime....

A decent WT will yield about 100 pounds of meat.Some of it ground, some of it chops, steaks, roast.
If you "average" the cost to about $8.00/lb (cheap imo considering ground beef alone and a decent cut of beef for steak is 20/pd). Thats $800 of meat in the freezer. Good healthy meals which the poor don't usually get, so to suggest its not feasible....
Thats a ton of gas, or arrows or other things the family might need like milk or socks.............


Is it great value for the buck? Yep. A night at the movies for two will cost of $50 for 2 hours entertainment.So thats not really the issue either....imo.

Which leaves the SPA, money they get from us ( and no or few other user groups) and how far it needs to be stretched to do everything......And hows its spent.

Curious, given everything, what do people think it would take to adequately fund the MNR a year.
hire 50 more COs (gross about 60k and after benefits say 80k). Thats 3million per year
I assume they need equipment and trucks...?

Biologist?
To do what we want for Moose, Bears, Coyotes, Walleye...

Asian Carp?

When you have enough money, how its spent, what is a "priority", what isn't, isn't all that important. When you have to live on a beer budget..........The SPA provides about 65mm, and these days is about 60-75% of the budget funding..

And yeah, isn't funny how the green champions leave the MNRF and MOE as bottom feeders

[smitty55]

The real poor do not hunt, they cannot afford it.

Really?? I'm not sure what world you live in. The real poor that live in rural areas may not buy a license, but believe me that doesn't stop them from taking fish and game to feed their families, regardless of open seasons. All it takes is any cheap old rifle or shotgun and a few rounds. And you know what? Sometimes the authorities even know that otherwise some of the kids in those families would go hungry so they tend to look the other way. I know for a fact of one instance about 20 years ago where the mnr was going to do a sweep of suspected poachers and this one very poor family was actually given a subtle heads up before hand. Personally, I applaud the CO who had the common sense to realize that busting that guy wouldn't help a thing except to put those kids more at risk.