Ontario shortens rabbit hunting season, bans snapping turtle hunt

Hunting lobby groups in Ontario say losing three months off the rabbit hunting season in the northern part of the province will affect more than just the people who hunt the small game.

In addition, they've also raised concerns about the province's decision to ban outright, the hunting of snapping turtles.

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"Things like this effect small businesses in northern Ontario," John Kaplanis, the head of the Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance, told CBC Thunder Bay outdoor columnist Gord Ellis of the shortened rabbit season.

"These opportunities amount to people going out to buy gas ... [and] ammunition. These are the things that are going to be affected by this change."

According to a statement from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, rabbit and hare hunting in northern Ontario wrapped up April 1 a good two-and-a-half months earlier than the previous date of June 15.

The OFAH also charged that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry gave less than one day's notice to hunters of cottontail rabbit, snowshoe and European hares of the new end date.

The group also took issue with the cancellation of the hunting of snapping turtles across Ontario, saying there was no mention of an outright ban when changes to the turtle regulations were proposed earlier this year.

A snapping turtle hunter from the Shebandowan area, west of Thunder Bay, echoed those sentiments.

Ted Chisholm, who is also a retired game warden with the ministry, said the reporting of snapper kills was made mandatory in 2012, and in the northwest, over the subsequent four years, only seven were taken.

"We're not hurting the resource up here whatsoever," he told CBC's northern Ontario afternoon show, Up North. "For us to have a total ban on it ... it's not sitting good with me."

Chisholm added that he can't understand why the animals are listed as a species of concern in the north.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has not yet made anyone available to comment on the hunting changes.

Click here to listen to CBC Thunder Bay outdoor columnist Gord Ellis's report on the hunting regulation changes.