In complete disregard of a petition signed by more than 11,000 people and a report jointly released by Ontario Nature, the David Suzuki Foundation and the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) told us that hunting snapping turtles can continue even though the animal is listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Wow. How can Minister Gravelle, or anyone working at MNR, believe that this is the right decision? Gravelle’s response is a slap in the face to the scientific experts who determined the hunt is unsustainable, the hunters who are eating potentially toxic meat, and the 11,000 Ontarians who asked the government to stop the hunt (www.ontarionature.org/protect/campaigns/snapping_turtle.php).
MNR has decided that while it’s ok to keep killing snappers, they would like to see mandatory reporting of the “harvest.” (MNR’s suggested reporting requirement is now posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights, registry number 011-6043).
We have no idea how MNR will enforce this directive. Moreover, mandatory reporting of hunted animals (using a tag system as is the case with moose and deer) yields notoriously inaccurate data. Typically, 50% of the hunted animals are reported. Still, through a tag system, MNR has contact information for every hunter and can theoretically enforce reporting. However, people who hunt snapping turtles are not issued tags, so MNR has no way of knowing who is doing the hunting. Any reporting they do get is surely going to be a huge underestimation of the actual total. Nevertheless, MNR will use this number to determine next steps, possibly concluding that the hunt is sustainable!
The fact of the matter is that the only way to determine if the hunt is sustainable is to determine how many snapping turtles are in Ontario and monitor the changes in population size over time. In addition, it would be helpful to get an accurate assessment of how many snapping turtles are being killed annually.
As if all this wasn’t bad enough, our report showed that many snapping turtles have concentrations of PCBs that are unsafe for human consumption. Yet nothing has been proposed to determine which lakes have safe levels of contamination as is done with sport fish. Snapping turtles can live for a very long time, some estimates suggest well over 100 years, and toxins accumulate in their bodies each year and often reach hazardous levels.
The snapping turtle hunt is unhealthy to people who eat the meat and unsustainable for snappers. Minister Gravelle’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge the evidence means everyone loses.
Please go to the EBR posting and ask MNR to do the right thing and ban the snapping turtle hunt or impose a moratorium until MNR has accurate hunting estimates, population trends and toxicity results across the turtle’s range with which to base an informed decision.
John Urquhart is Ontario Nature’s conservation science manager.
One would assume that people appointed to positions within MNR, especially the Minister of Natural Resources, would respect biodiversity and preservation of species. This sure doesn’t appear to be the case in the issue of the ‘snapping turtle hunt’!
This decision to allow snapping turtles to be hunted is irrational and irresponsible, especially in light of the potential risk of toxicity because of PCBs. These animals are dwindling in number – it’s bad enough that their habitats are disappearing, but the provincial government is allowing them to be hunted?! Hunting is, for the mostpart, a sport. No one needs to eat turtles to survive. It’s one thing to hunt a healthy, plentiful population of animals to help sustain a community or society, but this is illogical. We have supermarkets; we don’t need to eat snapping turtles. What we do need is to start respecting the wildlife that is left for their sake and for our own. (And how does the provincial government propose that a two-turtle- per- day quota be enforced, anyway?)
I find this to be preposterous and an alarming reflection of our society’s disregard for the wildlife in our midst . The provincial government has made a feckless error in judgement. Our surroundings and our lives in general would greatly benefit from having the natural ebb and flow of balance in wildlife populations. Snapping turtles play an important role in the fragile ecological balance.
This is just another example of a blatant disregard for the environment and its inhabitants. It’s up to us to support what’s left of our wildlife, not endanger it.
The Natural Resources ministry decision to continue to allow a snapping turtle hunt is really disappointing. At a time when snapping turtles face increasing pressure due to habitat loss, predators and road mortality, the ministry should be showing much more conservation leadership than to merely propose mandatory reporting of snapping turtle harvest activities (which, among other issues, will be difficult to enforce.) Once again, the ministry cannot decide if it is the ministry for the protection, or the exploitation, of natural resources. The concerns that have been expressed by credible observers such as Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller and Ontario Nature conservation science manager John Urquhart should be taken to heart by the ministry, starting now.
Gordon McNulty,
Hamilton, ON
This is so dis-heartening. It is such a simple thing to try and and protect and a species that has survived for millions of years and is only at risk because of human apathy and ambivalence. We are currently restructuring our property to include habitat, nesting and hibernation areas for turtles and other reptiles in the area- I am so sick and tired of the arrogant and self absorbed attitude toward the species we share our world with. We have had enough and if the Ministry won’t grow some balls then we will take matters into our own hands; there will be grave consequences for anyone who attempts to infringe on our protected area.