COVID-19 impacted Short Hills deer hunt
Ministry says it counted on hunt participants to follow protocols and pandemic safety
With measures in place to meet provincial government COVID-19 restrictions, the annual First Nations deer harvest at Short Hills Provincial Park wrapped up its eighth season Wednesday.
Although past First Nation deer harvests at the 735-hectare park have been met with protests, opposition this season was significantly curtailed due to the pandemic during the six days the hunt took place from Nov. 3 to Jan. 27.
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks spokesperson Gary Wheeler, however, said the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act permits Indigenous people to continue to exercise treaty rights, including their right to harvest deer in Short Hills park.
“An Indigenous person can exercise their Section 35 constitutional right to harvest for personal, ceremonial or social purposes within their traditional territory at any time,” Wheeler said. “Ontario honours the rights of the Haudenosaunee to conduct a traditional deer harvest in the park.”
Nevertheless, he said the 50 to 60 hunters typically participating in the harvest are expected to follow all precautions that have been established to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“The safety of our visitors and staff is always our top priority,” Wheeler said, adding the ministry has implemented measures to address overcrowding and promote physical distancing in Ontario parks, as well as buildings.
He said those measures were discussed with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and hunters were following them while in the park.
The COVID-19 restrictions have made it difficult for ministry officers to determine the number of deer harvested.
Wheeler said a formal staging area was not established this year to avoid gatherings and close contact between harvesters and ministry staff.
But harvest organizers have reported that typically 15 to 20 deer have been harvested during each date of the hunt, he added.
“We have determined that the park’s deer population is healthy, and the previous harvests have not negatively impacted the deer population. Local First Nation communities work closely with ministry staff to help ensure that the sustainability of the deer population is not jeopardized for the future.”