[mou] FYI Fwd: [Aliens-L] Urgent!! Massive Slaughter of Cormorants
Planned
Ed Brekke-Kramer
ed.brekke-kramer@dnr.state.mn.us
Sun, 07 Mar 2004 13:20:58 -0600
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Forwarded FYI:
>>> ppc@peacefulparks.org 3/7/2004 7:56:56 AM >>>
Urgent!! Urgent!! Urgent!!
Massive Slaughter of Double-crested Cormorants Planned for Presqu'ile
Provincial Park
Folks, we need your help !!
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is planning to shoot up to
6000
adult cormorants beginning next month at Presqu'ile.
This is a backwards and senseless slaughter of a wild species, and the
worst
sort of wildlife management. Never before in Ontario has such a
strategy to
control wildlife been proposed.
Please read the media release below, and help us generate a tidal wave
of
letters to Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay and Premier Dalton
McGuinty. In the next few days, the Peaceful Parks will have a method
to
send letters directly to the Minister and Premier from our website.
Please read the media release below and help us save the
Double-crested
Cormorant. For more information on the Ministry's strategy please
click
here:
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envregistry/022534ep.htm
While the Ministry has posted their cormorant strategy on the
Environmental
Bill of Rights Registry for public comment, the strategy is already set
in
stone.
What you should know.
*The Liberals, while in opposition, introduced a bill to remove the
Double-crested Cormorant from protection lists, and reduce them to the
status of vermin. The Double-crested Cormorant is a recovering
endangered
species. It is also a skillful fish predator and much hated by
recreational
anglers who view them as competitors for "panfry". Anglers want the
cormorant eliminated, and hence the political move to reduce them to
vermin.
*The Ministry insists the move to shoot thousands of cormorants is an
effort
to save mature Carolinian trees on the nesting island, High Bluff
Island,
and protect this habitat for other birds that nest along side the
cormorant.
But the remaining trees on High Bluff Island are old and were already
dying
prior to the arrival of the cormorant in the early 1980s, and the
Ministry
has made no effort to regenerate these tree species. Also, this island
was
cleared for farming and then abandoned in the 1930s. No provincially
significant vegetation exists on the island.
*Other nesting birds, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and the
Black-crowned
Night Herons are commonly found nesting with cormorants, and are
thriving on
High Bluff Island.
This has nothing to do with the noble cause of protecting rare floral
and
fauna and everything do to with the politics of sport fishing. It is
nothing short of a witch hunt !!!
**************************************
For Immediate Release
Animal Protection Institute
Peaceful Parks Coalition
Thousands of Birds To Be Shot Dead at Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
Toronto, March 5, 2004: This week and with much fanfare, the Ontario
Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay proudly announced his
decision
to permanently protect the wolves of Algonquin Park, stating predator
species play a key role in the balance of nature.
But also this week, Ramsay quietly approved the shooting of thousands
of
Double-crested Cormorants, an impressive and skillful avian predator of
the
Great Lakes aquatic system. Top of the food chain predator, cormorants
are
often referred to as the wolves of the aquatic system, and also play a
critical role in balancing natural ecosystems.
"The ecological difference between cormorants and wolves is zero,"
says
Barry Kent MacKay of the Animal Protection Institute. "They are
equivalent
in their role as top predators. The only difference is that
recreational
anglers hate cormorants because they are viewed as competitors for
sport
fish."
Thousands of Double-crested Cormorants arrive each summer to Ontario
from
the United States to nest and rear their young before migrating south
again
for the winter. Presqu'ile Provincial Park is home to thousands of
nesting
cormorants and reflects one of the greatest migrations on the
continent.
Minister Ramsay insists the congregation of thousands of birds is
destroying
unique vegetation and must be culled.
"The rationale for this cull is not to protect rare vegetation," says
AnnaMaria Valastro of the Peaceful Parks Coalition. "Cormorants are by
nature colonial birds and have nested in large colonies since the
beginning
of time. The impact their nesting colonies have on local vegetation is
a
natural process, critical in the formation of soil and the regeneration
of
plants and trees."
"Shooting cormorants is to placate recreational anglers. This was
clear
when David Ramsay chose to announce his decision at the annual
conference of
the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and before making a
public
announcement," says Valastro.
"If you understand that all creatures play a key role in the balance
of
nature, then you can't pick and chose which predators receive
protection and
which ones are shot dead," says MacKay.
-30-
For more information, please contact Barry Kent MacKay, Animal
Protection
Institute at 905.472.9731, or AnnaMaria Valastro, Peaceful Parks
Coalition
416.537.3212
Peaceful Parks Coalition
www.peacefulparks.org
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<BODY style="MARGIN: 4px 4px 1px; FONT: 10pt Microsoft Sans Serif">Forwarded FYI:<BR><BR>>>> ppc@peacefulparks.org 3/7/2004 7:56:56 AM >>><BR>
<DIV style="COLOR: #000000"><BR>Urgent!! Urgent!! Urgent!!<BR><BR>Massive Slaughter of Double-crested Cormorants Planned for Presqu'ile<BR>Provincial Park<BR><BR>Folks, we need your help !!<BR><BR>The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is planning to shoot up to 6000<BR>adult cormorants beginning next month at Presqu'ile.<BR><BR>This is a backwards and senseless slaughter of a wild species, and the worst<BR>sort of wildlife management. Never before in Ontario has such a strategy to<BR>control wildlife been proposed.<BR><BR>Please read the media release below, and help us generate a tidal wave of<BR>letters to Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay and Premier Dalton<BR>McGuinty. In the next few days, the Peaceful Parks will have a method to<BR>send letters directly to the Minister and Premier from our website.<BR><BR>Please read the media release below and help us save the Double-crested<BR>Cormorant. For more information on
the Ministry's strategy please click<BR>here:<BR><BR><A href="http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envregistry/022534ep.htm">http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envregistry/022534ep.htm</A><BR><BR>While the Ministry has posted their cormorant strategy on the Environmental<BR>Bill of Rights Registry for public comment, the strategy is already set in<BR>stone.<BR><BR>What you should know.<BR><BR>*The Liberals, while in opposition, introduced a bill to remove the<BR>Double-crested Cormorant from protection lists, and reduce them to the<BR>status of vermin. The Double-crested Cormorant is a recovering endangered<BR>species. It is also a skillful fish predator and much hated by recreational<BR>anglers who view them as competitors for "panfry". Anglers want the<BR>cormorant eliminated, and hence the political move to reduce them to vermin.<BR><BR>*The Ministry insists the move to shoot thousands of cormorants is an effort<BR>to save mature Carolinian trees on the nesting island, High Bluff
Island,<BR>and protect this habitat for other birds that nest along side the cormorant.<BR>But the remaining trees on High Bluff Island are old and were already dying<BR>prior to the arrival of the cormorant in the early 1980s, and the Ministry<BR>has made no effort to regenerate these tree species. Also, this island was<BR>cleared for farming and then abandoned in the 1930s. No provincially<BR>significant vegetation exists on the island.<BR><BR>*Other nesting birds, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and the Black-crowned<BR>Night Herons are commonly found nesting with cormorants, and are thriving on<BR>High Bluff Island.<BR><BR>This has nothing to do with the noble cause of protecting rare floral and<BR>fauna and everything do to with the politics of sport fishing. It is<BR>nothing short of a witch hunt !!!<BR><BR>**************************************<BR><BR>For Immediate Release<BR>Animal Protection Institute<BR>Peaceful Parks Coalition<BR><BR><BR>Thousand
s of Birds To Be Shot Dead at Presqu'ile Provincial Park.<BR><BR>Toronto, March 5, 2004: This week and with much fanfare, the Ontario<BR>Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay proudly announced his decision<BR>to permanently protect the wolves of Algonquin Park, stating predator<BR>species play a key role in the balance of nature.<BR><BR>But also this week, Ramsay quietly approved the shooting of thousands of<BR>Double-crested Cormorants, an impressive and skillful avian predator of the<BR>Great Lakes aquatic system. Top of the food chain predator, cormorants are<BR>often referred to as the wolves of the aquatic system, and also play a<BR>critical role in balancing natural ecosystems.<BR><BR>"The ecological difference between cormorants and wolves is zero," says<BR>Barry Kent MacKay of the Animal Protection Institute. "They are equivalent<BR>in their role as top predators. The only difference is that recreational<BR>anglers hate cormorants because they are viewed
as competitors for sport<BR>fish."<BR><BR>Thousands of Double-crested Cormorants arrive each summer to Ontario from<BR>the United States to nest and rear their young before migrating south again<BR>for the winter. Presqu'ile Provincial Park is home to thousands of nesting<BR>cormorants and reflects one of the greatest migrations on the continent.<BR><BR>Minister Ramsay insists the congregation of thousands of birds is destroying<BR>unique vegetation and must be culled.<BR><BR>"The rationale for this cull is not to protect rare vegetation," says<BR>AnnaMaria Valastro of the Peaceful Parks Coalition. "Cormorants are by<BR>nature colonial birds and have nested in large colonies since the beginning<BR>of time. The impact their nesting colonies have on local vegetation is a<BR>natural process, critical in the formation of soil and the regeneration of<BR>plants and trees."<BR><BR>"Shooting cormorants is to placate recreational anglers. This was clear<BR>when Davi
d Ramsay chose to announce his decision at the annual conference of<BR>the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and before making a public<BR>announcement," says Valastro.<BR><BR>"If you understand that all creatures play a key role in the balance of<BR>nature, then you can't pick and chose which predators receive protection and<BR>which ones are shot dead," says MacKay.<BR><BR>-30-<BR><BR>For more information, please contact Barry Kent MacKay, Animal Protection<BR>Institute at 905.472.9731, or AnnaMaria Valastro, Peaceful Parks Coalition<BR>416.537.3212<BR><BR>Peaceful Parks Coalition<BR><A href="http://www.peacefulparks.org">www.peacefulparks.org</A><BR><BR><BR>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR>To contact the list owners: aliens-l-owner@indaba.iucn.org<BR>To leave this list, send a blank message to: aliens-l-leave@indaba.iucn.org<BR><BR>WWW archives: <A href="http://indaba.iucn.org:1276/readlistarchives.mml">http://indaba.iucn.org:1276/readlis
tarchives.mml</A><BR><BR><BR>The services and facilities to support this list are provided by The Information Management Group, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.<BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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