Ottawa suggests opening sandhill crane hunt in northern Ontario

The federal government is suggesting bringing sandhill cranes back on the menu in northern Ontario, possibly this fall.

The Canadian Wildlife Service is proposing a limited hunting season that would allow the harvest of sandhill cranes in select parts of the north, allowing the species to be legally hunted in Ontario for the first time.

The proposal comes after years of lobbying by hunters and farmers who say the growing stork population is increasingly causing damage to crops.

“We have been contacted by the farming community and the hunting community since early 2003,” said Christopher Sharp, population management biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service.

“Environment and Climate Change Canada went out and collected data on what was happening with sandhill cranes in Ontario and Quebec, what the level of conflict was with farmers, where the cranes were migrating through the two provinces. And with that we were able to come up with enough information to complete the assessment.”

The crane population is increasing again

Sharp said there are two main populations of sandhill cranes in Canada.

The mid-continent population reproduces and migrates through the Prairie provinces and numbers approximately one million.

“Our population in Ontario and Quebec is the eastern population, which is very small. It’s about 100,000 birds, but over the last few decades these birds have increased dramatically and now we are at high enough levels that they can produce some harvest,” Sharp said.

The Canadian Wildlife Service says decades of population monitoring shows the eastern population is thriving – a dramatic turnaround for a species that was nearly driven to extinction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to unregulated hunting and widespread wetland destruction for agriculture.

Sharp said sandhill cranes have thrived in part because they have adapted well to agricultural landscapes.

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in both numbers and distribution. Our most recent count for Ontario and Quebec is about 50,000 sandhill cranes. So about half of the eastern population is coming through Ontario and Quebec,” he said.

According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, Ontario’s sandhill crane population has grown an average of 12 per cent annually between 1970 and 2021, and about six per cent annually since 2011.

Their increasing numbers have intensified conflicts with farmers, especially in Northern Ontario, where large herds feed on harvested fields during migration.

Sharp said, “The work we’ve done has been appreciated by the agricultural community. But it won’t solve all the issues of sandhill crane conflict with agriculture. It won’t replace other equipment that farmers have.”

“It’s no big deal. For the most part, it’s about providing hunters in Ontario the opportunity to harvest this good-eating game species.”

What would the proposed hunt look like?

Under the proposal, sandhill crane hunting would be limited to parts of Northern Ontario where the cranes are most abundant during autumn migration, including the areas of Algoma, Nipissing and Temiskaming, as well as areas south of Sudbury. The Hudson and James Bay districts will also be included.

To ensure stability, proposed season Will only last for two weeks. Hunters will be limited to harvesting one crane per day, with hunting restricted to selected areas.

To avoid disturbing the cranes living in the boreal forest, harvesting will also be limited to farmland only. That farmland restriction will not apply in the Hudson and James Bay District.

To participate, hunters will need both a provincial small game license and a federal migratory bird hunting permit.

Public comment on the proposed hunting season is open until Feb. 12.

Hunters show interest in ‘Ribe of the Sky’

Sharp said interest in sandhill crane hunting is expected to remain limited but steady.

“There is a subgroup of hunters that are interested in harvesting sandhill cranes. We don’t expect to harvest large amounts, but they are occurring in agricultural areas where hunting may occur,” he said.

Sandhill crane meat is sometimes referred to by hunters as “the ribeye of the sky,” a nickname Sharp said has earned it.

He said, “It’s like a grass-fed steak. When I tried it, it was very soft and good to eat. But we have to be careful about it. That’s why we are taking this conservative approach.”