Message from the Minister
Ontario has millions of hectares of public land, teeming with wildlife and vital ecosystems. Our landscape offers world-class hunting experiences that draw enthusiasts not only from our province, but across Canada and around the world.
Hunting is an integral part of our province’s heritage, our culture, our economy and our way of life.
As hunters, you share knowledge and a love of the land that is itself a wonderful resource. Hunters are excellent stewards of the land, helping to conserve and sustain the valuable natural resources we are so lucky to have in Ontario – not just for today, but for generations to come.
As Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, I am pleased to support the hunting community and lead efforts at a government level to responsibly manage our precious natural resources.
We share your vision for Ontario. A place of healthy forests, bountiful wildlife, and abundant opportunities for all Ontarians to enjoy the outdoors.
This shared commitment to preserve our natural heritage has led to strengthening and maintaining healthy wildlife populations. We continue to look for new and better ways to manage our natural resources.
My ministry has been working together with hunters to protect our deer, moose, elk and caribou from Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Hunters help keep CWD out of Ontario by using only artificial lures, by using local bait and by not importing high-risk animal parts. Hunter participation in Ontario’s CWD surveillance program is critical to our province’s efforts to ensure early detection and rapid response to this deadly disease.
Information gathered from hunters, such as what is provided through hunter reports and black bear tooth submissions, is valuable to support sustainable wildlife management and is another example of the strong relationship we have with hunters in Ontario.
More broadly, direct information from hunters is essential to provide information about how these traditional activities enrich the lives of Ontarians and how people engage in these activities.
By regularly surveying hunters, we track how perspectives of hunters change over time, across wildlife species and amongst different areas of the province.
For instance, this past year a survey of moose hunters was used to understand the economic and social benefits that moose hunting provides along with an opportunity for hunters to have their say about the new points-based system for allocating resident moose tags.
Insights from these voluntary hunter surveys complement mandatory hunter reporting data, where increases in hunter reporting response rates have, in some cases, directly contributed to more opportunities for Ontario hunters.
Through your ongoing co-operation in following Ontario’s hunting regulations, we can continue to ensure future generations of Ontarians are able to take part in this cherished activity.
As always, I wish you the best of luck as you hunt – and remember to be safe!
The Honourable Graydon Smith
Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
