Brett Thoms
Gracefield October 18, 2022
The MRCs Pontiac, Vallée de la Gatineau and the MRC of Antoine-Labelle are working together in order to protect white-tailed deer populations across the three regions.
The joint initiative was announced in a press conference in Gracefield last Tuesday.
The goal of the three regions is to: “promote and defend sound management of wildlife activities in order to ensure the future of hunting activities in Quebec,” according to the press release accompanying the announcement.
The efforts of the three MRCs centre on encouraging hunters to avoid the hunting of . . .
young male white-tailed deer through both an educational campaign and proposed legal restrictions.
Specifically the union is advocating for measures that “encourage the harvest of white-tailed deer with three or more points on one side of the antlers to better restore the balance and ensure the sustainability of the population.”
Robert Dorion, who lives in Luskville and is the representative of the MRC Pontiac in the matter, said that he supports the initiative in order to stabilize the deer population and therefore improve the quality and stability of hunting.
“I’ve been hunting since I was 12, so I have 35 years experience and have never missed the season,” said Dorion in an interview at the press conference in Gracefield. “We started documenting the different years that we were hunting and we’ve noticed that there were fluctuations in the herd in the last six or seven years, and that those fluctuations have been drastic. Other hunters had noticed the same thing and they got organized and started coming out with ideas to try to help the deer herd come back to a level where it’d be interesting to hunt.”
Dorion explained that the effort is to ensure that there are more mature bucks that are being hunted as opposed to the young which haven’t had the opportunity to breed.
“What we’re seeing now are one year and a half old’s and then we have four-and five-year old’s, which are the wiser and smarter ones that managed to play to hunters and survive, but there’s nothing in the middle,” said Dorion. “And that from an environmental point of view is a big problem. By giving the chance to the younger ones to be able to go through their first hunting season, then you get a better chance to have a two and three year old.”
The union’s goal is twofold. First, they are advocating that the Government of Quebec change the regulations to ensure that only deer with three or more points on one side of the antler are eligible to be harvested. The idea is that older bucks are more likely to have three or more points and by only hunting them they would allow younger bucks a chance to breed.
If the rule changed then game wardens would have the power to give out fines or otherwise enforce that hunters only harvest mature bucks, according to Dorion.
The second goal is to spreading awareness, which representatives from the MRC Pontiac would rather focus on.
They hope to encourage hunters to make this change themselves through education which emphasizes the future sustainability and the quality of hunting.
“We’re hoping that it doesn’t come to [changing the rules], if people realize why we’re doing this and the benefits of healthier herds, then hunters will start doing it on their own, “ said Dorion.
Dorion argued that if this change is made, in a few years hunters would not have the challenge of hunting larger and more mature animals, but also have far more choice and consistency during the hunting season.
However, Dorion acknowledges that many initiatives are not without opposition.
“What people are most afraid of is, and I believe it’s normal, is they’re afraid of change and the feeling that they’re losing rights,” said Dorion about the hunters concerned over the introduction of new regulations. “I would encourage people to look at it differently. You’re not losing any rights. We’re trying to help the deer herd so that everybody can have fun while hunting and not just, a few people. If you look at the United States, our neighbors that are not that far away, they have similar laws in place and the deer hunting is unbelievable. They have seen a large increase in the quality of the deer hunting, so it just does take a few years, but after a few years these people that are opposed to it or worried we’ll be the first to say ‘wow, I’m happy that it’s been done because look at the choices I have, look at what I can harvest and look at all the deer I’m seeing instead of sitting in the bush and seeing nothing for days on end’.”
A big selling point of the initiative was the economics of ensuring a sustainable hunting industry in the rural areas represented by the coalition.
Hunting generates approximately $8.3 million in wealth creation in the MRC Antoine-Labelle alone, according to the press release.
“The ability to hunt and fish in abundance has always had a very important place in the identity of the residents of the MRC Pontiac. In order to ensure the future of this industry for our local businesses, and to protect this important resource for future generations, the three MRCs have decided to act together to protect our wildlife,” said MRC Pontiac Warden Jane Toller in the press release.
Dorion also stated that if younger generations are turned off from hunting because of the lack of deer, it will constitute a lost generation for the hunting industry and therefore lead to falling revenues for governments.
An awareness campaign titled Unis pour la Faune is in the process of distributing pamphlets and getting the message out over radio in order to ensure that hunters get the message.
The group of MRCs encourage those who want to get involved in the campaign to visit https://unispourlafaune.com.
