Hunter says group stalled in plan for moose season
With a deadline looming to apply for a tag to hunt moose, a local group of hunters is growing increasingly frustrated with the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 restrictions.
Mike Catari said he and his 12 buddies are under growing pressure to make deposits on accommodations for October’s annual moose hunt or risk losing their place to stay. The group travels each year to Red Lake, which is located 535 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay and less than 100 kilometres from the Manitoba border in Northern Ontario.
As well, the deadline to enter the lottery for a tag, which allows hunters to shoot either a male, a female or a calf, is June 1.
Catari, a retired Chrysler worker who has been hunting for 50 years, said the group is anxious to get clarification from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry whether they will be able to travel and stay together in Red Lake.
“We’ve got to apply for one moose licence. And then we’ve got to rent the cabin. And travelling too,” Catari said. “Now it’s the coronavirus and they say you gotta be distanced and not more than four or five people. So we would want to know from (the) ministry what’s going on.
“Our grouping is more than five … we would want to know before we buy the licences what’s going on,” he noted. “They need to inform the hunters, either that (the) hunt’s going on or what they’re going to do. The ministry, they don’t wanna say nothing.”
Catari said he’s spoken with ministry officials who say they will have answers by September, but he said September is too late. He and his friends plan to hunt the first week of October.
The owner of the cabin says the group has to commit or not, said Catari . “We can make the reservation. They want (a) down payment. If you cancel, you lose some money too.”
And Catari said if they let the cabin go and it’s rented to someone else, they’ll have nowhere to stay should the COVID -19 restrictions change.
“We like the sport,” he said. “It’s our vacation.”
The group of friends rent the same cabin each year, bunking all together.
They also drive up to the site together each year with all their equipment.
“Now there’s only five people to a gathering. We don’t want to be fined for breaking the rules,” Catari said. “Everybody keeps asking me, (are) we going to apply or what because nobody knows what’s going on.”
Ministry spokeswoman Jolanta Kowalski said via email that at this time hunting remains open.
“As of now, we are planning to go ahead with fall hunts as scheduled,” Kowalski said.
“In the event that big game hunting seasons are closed due to public health restrictions, the ministry is considering options for reimbursement or credits for purchased big game licences and draw applications (elk). The ministry will provide detailed communications to hunters in the event of hunting season closures.
“We will continue to follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health as the situation across Ontario evolves.”