HUNTING BAN APPLAUDED
Province closing trapping season
Snapping turtles still have to worry about getting run over by cars and having their nests raided by skunks and raccoons or inadvertently destroyed by humans.
But as of April 1, they can no longer be trapped and hunted in Ontario.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry amended its regulations to help ensure the survival of the large freshwater turtle.
“The province is closing the trapping season for snapping turtles to help maintain their populations and provide the opportunity for the species to repopulate,” a ministry statement said.
Before the ban, a resident of Ontario could legally catch and kill two snappers a day despite it being classified a species at risk in the province since 2009.
Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are basically the polar opposite of rabbits when it comes to proliferation. It takes between 17 and 20 years before a female snapper even begins to lay eggs.
“We looked at the math and it just isn’t sustainable,” said Randal Heide, the executive director of Wildlife Preservation Canada. “They don’t reproduce enough and even hatchlings have a high mortality rate.”
For the last 10 years, Heide’s group has hired summer students to save turtle nests from the exploding population of raccoons and skunks.
One study done along Lake Erie’s north shore in the mid-2000s showed virtually 100 per cent of the nests identified had been wiped out by predators.
Heide said a team will look to protect nests again this spring along the shores of Lake Erie but they don’t divulge exactly where because of poaching concerns.
The ministry asked for public input when it first considered a ban in 2011.
At the time, Essex Coun. Sherry Bondy mustered the support of town council to send their thoughts.
“I had just read an article on snapping turtles,” Bondy said. “They face so many obstacles in our environment from development and roads, I just thought Essex council should submit our opinion.”
The ministry did nothing at the time but last year asked for public input concerning proposed limits on a hunt.
Of the 12,769 comments received from the public, most supported an outright ban, including those from the town of Essex.
“I really feel passionate about standing up for segments of our society, whether it’s the environment or animals who can’t speak for themselves,” said Bondy, who watched the eggs from a snapper’s nest hatch last summer at her parents’ Lake Erie home.
Nesting season runs from late May through July.
It is mostly female turtles that risk life and shell on area roadways as they move inland looking for a suitable nesting site. Conservationists recommend kindly motorists move the turtle off to the side of the road it was striving to reach. They suggest using a shovel or encouraging its progress with a car mat. They do not recommend lifting it by the tail, as this can cause major injury.
The province is closing the trapping season for snapping turtles to help maintain their populations