Province snaps back in effort to save turtles
Ontario has made it illegal to trap or kill the species
The province has taken a bite out of the snapping turtle hunt, banning it permanently to give the species a chance to rebound.
From hunting to poaching, to habitat loss or being run over on the road, Ontario’s snapping turtles face a number of threats, so eliminating even one of them will slow their decline, wildlife experts said.
“Turtles are one of the most endangered vertebrates on the planet; seven of eight in Ontario are listed as species at risk,” said Sue Carstairs, executive and medical director of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough.
“Having a legal hunt for a species at risk does add that extra threat. Turtles have a unique life experience . . . The population cannot handle the loss of one adult,” she added.
“It’s not logical to have them legally hunted.”
Last December, the government had considered limiting the hunt, but, after hearing from the public, went even further.
While the number hunted sounds small — 20 in recent history, said Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Kathryn McGarry — banning it will “ensure the long-term sustainability of the species.
“Many people were unaware that the harvest was still allowed in Onta- rio,” she told the Star.
So when her ministry asked for input, “it seemed that Ontario was ready to close, permanently, the harvest of the snapping turtle.”
The species, mainly found in southern Ontario, has been on the province’s watchlist since 2009 not only because of the number of road and waterway deaths, but also because of poachers trapping them, either for the pet trade or for consumption, typically in turtle soup.
The ban comes as their nesting season begins.
“Road mortality is a big piece of (the threat),” McGarry said. “We always ask for people to slow down when they are in rural areas, with wetlands, on the roads in the spring as the turtles cross the road to be able to lay their eggs away from their habitat.”
The ministry will continue to monitor the population and “decide if there’s any further measures that we need to do be able to protect our wetlands and other things,” she said.
Snapping turtles can live 100 years, but it takes about 20 years for them to mature.
They are the largest freshwater turtle in the province and can weigh up to 16 kilograms, but “they reproduce really slowly,” said veterinarian Sherri Cox of the University of Guelph, who founded the National Wildlife Centre.
“It takes17 to 20 years to reproduce, to reach sexual maturity, so it’s a slow renewal.”
When it comes time to mate and lay eggs, or simply find food, because turtles take their time crossing the road, “that’s usually when they get hit,” Cox said.
Adults that die might have produced 50 eggs, and when turtles are fatally injured, the rescue centres will try to salvage the eggs.
“We don’t need one more pressure on the population,” Cox said. “Saving just one turtle can help.”
While some countries consider the meat a delicacy, there are plenty of food options here and there’s no need to eat turtles, she added.
One group opposed to the ban is the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, which said the province did not follow an open process.
When making changes, a ban was not presented as an option, but reduced seasons and other limits were, said Matt DeMille, manager of fish and wildlife services.
The federation does not believe snapping turtles are at risk, saying the ministry has not produced any data. “I think that we want to see an informed discussion about (the turtles),” DeMille said. The proposal has “no rationale behind it, and the decision was made with no evidence behind it.”
The ban reflects the government’s lack of transparency, he added, as it also shortened the rabbit- and harehunting season with little notice.
“The time wasted on making this change and the campaigns to achieve it will do nothing for snapping turtles,” he said. “It was time and energy that would have been better spent tackling the real issues facing snapping turtles — significant issues like road mortality and habitat loss.”
NDP natural resources critic Gilles Bisson said the government should be providing some evidence to the public before making changes to hunting, so “if it bears up, people say ‘I don’t like it, but I get it.’ ”