The federal government is considering allowing sandhill cranes to be hunted in northern Ontario, potentially starting this fall. The Canadian Wildlife Service is proposing a controlled hunting season in specific areas of the north, which would be the first legal hunting opportunity for the species in Ontario.
This proposal comes after years of advocacy from hunters and farmers who claim that expanding crane populations are causing increasing damage to crops. Christopher Sharp, a population management biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service, mentioned that they have been approached by the agricultural and hunting communities since 2003. They collected data on sandhill cranes in Ontario and Quebec to evaluate the situation.
Sandhill cranes have two main populations in Canada. The eastern population, found in Ontario and Quebec, has grown significantly over the years, reaching about 100,000 birds. This rise in numbers is attributed to the species’ adaptation to agricultural environments. The population monitoring conducted by the Canadian Wildlife Service indicates that the eastern population is thriving after facing near-extinction in the past due to unregulated hunting and wetland destruction.
To address conflicts with farmers, a proposed hunting season would focus on regions in northern Ontario where sandhill cranes are most abundant during migration. The season would last two weeks, allowing hunters to harvest one crane per day in designated areas. Harvesting would be restricted to farmland to avoid disturbing cranes in the boreal forest, with exceptions in the Hudson and James Bay District. Hunters interested in participating would need both provincial small game licenses and federal migratory bird hunting permits.
Public feedback on the proposed hunting season is open until February 12. Interest in hunting sandhill cranes is expected to be moderate but consistent, with hunters sometimes referring to sandhill crane meat as the “ribeye of the sky.” The Canadian Wildlife Service emphasizes a cautious approach to hunting to ensure sustainability and conservation of the species.
