A Belleville-area retailer is organizing a coyote killing contest with prizes. This is in violation of section 11 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, Hunting or trapping for gain.
The legislation specifically reads,
11 (1) Except with the authorization of the Minister, a person shall not,
(a) hunt for hire, gain or the expectation of gain;
(b) hire, employ or induce another person to hunt for gain;
(c) trap for hire, gain or the expectation of gain;
(d) hire, employ or induce another person to trap for gain; or
(e) pay or accept a bounty.
We are asking Ontario residents to use the form below to contact Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry Greg Rickford, as well as their MPP, to call on the Ministry to enforce this legislation.
If you’d like to write your own letter, please direct it to minister.ndmnrf@ontario.ca. You can consider using the following points:
- Contests awarding prizes for killing wildlife are a violation of Section 11 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act in Ontario.
- Killing contests can create unknown harm to ecosystems and disrupt the social structures of canids, leading to an increase in negative encounters between wildlife and people or property.
- Wildlife is held in trust by the province for all residents, not just consumptive users, and all voices should be heard and considered.
- Please keep your communications polite and to the point. Violent or offensive language and threats take away from the message and can create difficulties in future advocacy actions.
Updates will be provided by The Fur-Bearers and Coyote Watch Canada as they are available.
