Fishing / Game contests targeted by Ottawa organisation

[mblaney]

http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/20 ... 51966.html

This has been mentioned on this forum before but it is back in the media again. An Ottawa organisation is spending money trying to stop a local Coyote contest. This may seem unrelated to fishing but the context is the same: their argument is that offering a prize is illegal - hunters and fishers are not to be compensated for their activities. The Ministry of Natural Resources does not have any issue with these contests (yet!).

Offering a prize draw for a coyote is no different than a 'big buck' or 'big fish' contest. If the coyote contest is killed than so are the others.

Please pass this on; we need all of the support we can get to keep the lobbyist at bay.

[Todd B.]

Offering a prize draw for a coyote is no different than a 'big buck' or 'big fish' contest. If the coyote contest is killed than so are the others.

I would have to disagree, in that the coyote contest is w.r.t. a coyote culling, whereas the fishing tournaments are catch and release, with teams/participants being penalized for killing fish.

[Yannick Loranger]

It's the cuteness factor. Coyotes are cute, fish aren't. The fish will be left alone.
There's a reason activists don't care about the fact that for 40$ you can kill a baby moose, but God forbid a baby seal gets whacked.

[CNs]

I think the point is not whether fishing tourneys are catch and release and the coyote hunt is a cull. The point is that if they succeed in stopping the contest it is a foot in the door to stop hunting then fishing.


What these animal activists do not understand are that there are too many coyotes, deer and other animals in the area. By not hunting we are making thier lives worse as they over populate an area nd compete for limited resources. Starvation and disease are issues.


So Mblaney what would you have us do?

[mblaney]

I think the point is not whether fishing tourneys are catch and release and the coyote hunt is a cull. The point is that if they succeed in stopping the contest it is a foot in the door to stop hunting then fishing.


What these animal activists do not understand are that there are too many coyotes, deer and other animals in the area. By not hunting we are making thier lives worse as they over populate an area nd compete for limited resources. Starvation and disease are issues.


So Mblaney what would you have us do?

This is correct, a foot in the door. The 'coyote' contest is not the issue, just the example they are using. The issue is interpretation of the Act, specifically "... it is an offence to hunt for gain or to induce another person to hunt for gain."

Allowing someone who has harvested a deer or a coyote to enter a contest is no different than a fishing derby. Whether or not the critter was ‘harvested’ or ‘released’ is not the point; the point is that some organisation is promoting (inducing) it. Fishing derbies were specifically mentioned in a similar lobby action about a year ago.

What can we do? I don’t know. I will be forwarding this article to the OFAH (Zone F specifically); the OFAH and all of the sponsors of these events will have better resources than you or me. Options we have might include contacting your MPP, show support to MNR, spread the word.

[mblaney]

I think the point is not whether fishing tourneys are catch and release and the coyote hunt is a cull.

Also, this is not a cull. The contest is intended for those who hunt coyotes, what they do with them, how many they shoot, etc is not part of the contest. The contest is designed to be exclusive to those who hunt coyotes. Kind of like a 'buck contest'; it would not be fair if it was "no purchase necessary" (read: no deer necessary) and anyone could enter the draw without having to prove their participation.

[tinman454]

If people think that fishing wont be affected think again. Are you not promoting crule and un usual punishment on fish?? If you hunt or fish it is the same thing in the eyes of these people. We need to stick together or they will stop all sporting activites that involve any animals. If you fish and look down on hunters YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM !! the only way we can fight these people is stick together as one!!