Why Hunting Matters

Congrats to Range Arts client Omair on his first Turkey hunt!

Hunting is wonderful, but it’s misunderstood by a lot of people. When some think of hunting they might think of people on safari poaching endangered species - as ridiculous as that might sound to an Ontario hunter! Here, hunters aim to be responsible and are critical to environmental management. Hunting is more about loving the outdoors and animals than destroying it, and many hunters practice sustainable hunting to prevent environmental damage.

For those of us taking our first steps into hunting, let’s walk through the big picture: hunting’s positive and negative impacts.

The Positive

Let’s start with wildlife management. Take white tailed deer population in Ontario as an example. Their population needs controlling, otherwise they’ll eat up everything leading to mass starvation, etc. In Ontario we are actively controlling the deer population. The government counts deer every year through hunters and other means and then specify how many deer of each sex can be harvested by hunters.

All of this also keeps the ecosystem in balance. If there are too many predators, they’re going to start looking elsewhere for their food. If there are too many prey, they’re going to run around everywhere unchecked eating too much. Hunting helps keep a balance.

The cost of licences and species tags also goes toward protecting the environment and conservation of natural habitats. The land is a home for many species and we are actively helping in it’s preservation and creating protected areas for animals. Beyond tags, hunters also tend to spend quite a bit which stimulates local economies.

The Negative

Unfortunately, there are some people who hunt illegally and hunt species that should not be hunted. This can lead to population to decline, leading to endangerment or extinction. Ontario Conservation Officers combat illegal hunting by patrolling protected areas and enforcing hunting regulations. Some of these regulations seem inconvenient, but they’re actually quite important.

For example, this year, we need to be careful of the invasive wild pig, which if shot can avoid the area and migrate to places we don’t want them. So be careful setting up your shots!

Another one of the negative impacts is pollution. Lead ammunition is cheaper, we know that, but lead can contaminate the soil, water, and other resources which can poison the wildlife. Lead shot is prohibited when hunting waterfowl, for example, so the lead doesn’t leach into bodies of water. Another source of contamination is simple waste from hunting parties making a mess at their camps. We like to follow the “leave no trace” ideology. Take out everything you took into your campsite.

How do we keep hunting positive?

As boring as this sounds: Regulations. Remember they change every year so you’ll need to stay up to date. And do your best to protect the flora and fauna of the province.

For the latest guidelines and regulations, you can refer to the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary.