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Wolves Ontario!

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The best way to stay informed about developments around the Wolves Ontario! project is:
Check the Wolves Ontario! website often
Email the Wolves Ontario! project coordinator at info@wolvesontario.org
Join the Wolf Defenders email list!
The Defenders email list is the best way to receive the latest breaking news about wolves in Ontario, keep up to date on the newest action alerts and press releases, and keep you informed about important volunteer opportunities.

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ACTION ALERT

Support strong protection for Ontario wolves!

We have an opportunity to become a world leader in wolf conservation initiatives.
We need your help to make this a reality.

First regulations to protect wolves in Ontario.

In 2005 Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay, implemented new hunting and trapping regulations to restrict wolf killing across the province as part of a larger Strategy for Wolf Conservation in Ontario (to view the strategy please visit http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envregistry/023658ep.htm - you will find a link to the document at the bottom of the page).  Hunters and trappers are no longer able to kill wolves and coyotes* between April 1st and September 14th in northern and central Ontario. *Since it is difficult to distinguish between Eastern wolves and coyotes, coyotes are included in the regulations to make them enforceable

Closing the hunting and trapping season for the majority of the spring and summer season will help protect wolf pups when they are most vulnerable and dependant on the adults. However, few wolves are killed during the spring and summer as most wolf hunting and trapping occurs during the late fall and winter when the wolf’s pelt is prime.

As well, hunters who want to shoot wolves must now purchase a special game license and are restricted to a limit of two per year.  Ontario hunters will now have to pay $10 for the seal while non-resident hunters will have to pay $250.  The Minister has also made it mandatory to report all wolves killed regardless of the method and reason.  This is the first time wolf killing has been restricted across the majority of the species’ provincial range, signaling a positive change in direction.

Earthroots’ Wolves Ontario! campaign was launched in August 2000 and after 5 years of steadfast intensive campaigning, unhindered wolf hunting and trapping finally came to an end in this province.  Earthroots welcomes the new restrictions on wolf killing as Ontario has long been recognized as one of the top three worst jurisdictions in the world because of its out-of-date, exploitative wolf management policies. It wasn't so long ago that the Ontario government offered a bounty to reward people who killed wolves. Though an important first step, more work needs to be done to ensure the wolf’s future in Ontario. 

Is the Minister committed to improving wolf conservation in Ontario?

Minister Ramsay has done more for wolves than any other Minister before him and he deserves to be congratulated.  However, there are still many threats to wolves that have not been addressed.  There is still no limit set for trappers, and wolf hunting and trapping remains unregulated and unrestricted in central and eastern Ontario along the Frontenac Axis.  Ontario has not yet created a province-wide recovery plan for the Eastern wolf (a species of Special Concern) which can still be hunted and trapped in some places, even in certain Provincial Parks.

The majority of wolves killed for the commercial sale of their pelts are caught with wire neck snares.  This device is designed to tighten as the animal pulls against it – if the animal is caught around the neck (and not around the body or leg) it will die of strangulation.  Snares are cruel, non-selective devices that have already been banned in many other jurisdictions around the world – we need your voice to ensure they are banned here.

One of the key goals in the Strategy for Wolf Conservation in Ontario is to ensure ecologically sustainable wolf populations.  Wolves are currently only protected from hunting and trapping on 3% of their range and require large tracts of undisturbed wilderness to survive – protecting wolf habitat is vital to ensuring a future for the wolf in this province.  This is a bigger crucial step that the government must initiate.  Protecting Eastern wolves in Algonquin Park by creating a buffer zone outside of the boundaries (where hunting and trapping activities are banned), is a good example of what needs to be done in other regions of the province.

Take action today by sending a letter to the Ontario government.

Your help is needed to ensure previous commitments to wolf conservation are not abandoned.  Ask the Minister to continue “leading the pack” and further change the way wolves are viewed and managed in Ontario.  We want the province to recognize the value of the wolf in shaping the ecosystem and maintaining biodiversity.

Letters should be sent to both the Premier of Ontario and the Minister of Natural Resources.  If you don’t have time to write a letter, please consider leaving them a simple and clear voicemail message.

Let the government know that you want to see:

  • Limits on wolf trapping,
  • A ban on hunting and trapping wolves in all protected areas,
  • Implementation of an Eastern wolf recovery plan,
  • A ban on wolf snaring,
  • New conservation reserves to fully protect wolves and their habitat.

Hon. Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building, Queen’s Park,
Toronto, ON    M7A 1A1 
Phone: 416-325-1941
Fax: 416-325-3745

Hon. David Ramsay
Minister of Natural Resources
6630 - 99 Wellesley St. W., 6th Floor, Whitney Block
Toronto, ON    M7A 1W3
Phone: 416-314-2301
Fax: 416-314-2216
Email: minister@mnr.gov.on.ca   

Please also send a copy of your letter to your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and to Earthroots for our records.  Your MPP will not speak for the wolves at Queen’s Park unless his / her constituents demand them to.  Politely request their response to your letter.  For your MPP’s contact information, visit: http://www.electionsontario.on.ca/en/home_en.shtml and click on “find your electoral district”.

 

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