Ontario’s decision for the province-wide cull of Double-crested Cormorants La décision de l'Ontario quant à l'abattage des Cormorans à aigrettes à la grandeur de la province

[摘要] On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the convention between the United States and Canada to protect migratory birds in North America, Linda Wires published an invited editorial in this journal titled “Migratory bird protection, a crack in the armor: the case of the Double-crested Cormorant” (Wires 2015). In Canada the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA) was passed in 1917, while in the United States the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) was passed in 1918. These acts resulted in the implementation of the convention in each country and provided protection under the law to migratory birds, their nests, and eggs. This protection represents a milestone internationally in bird conservation efforts. As her title suggested, the Doublecrested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) was one species that received no such national protection as a result of this treaty, a decision that reflected hundreds of years of persecution. An interesting aspect of Wires editorial was that she contrasted cormorant control in Canada with the United States and considered Canada’s record favorably compared to that of our southern neighbor. That is not to say that Canada has not engaged in considerable persecution of this species but that our measures have hitherto been more targeted and considered compared with the depredation orders of the United States that have resulted in the greatest culling of any native North American species. Regardless, the establishment of depredation orders in the United States and the culling of birds in Canada has led to well over half a million Double-crested Cormorants killed, by Wires (2014) account. Unfortunately, the tide has turned and recent events in the province of Ontario stand to dramatically change the standing of Canada’s record on this front.

[学科分类] 口腔科学

[关键词] cormorants;diet;management;persecution;Laurentian Great Lakes;Ontario