By Doug Draper
It’s back and just as controversial as it was when the first one was permitted last January.
Deer in Short Hills Provincial Park. Photo courtesy of Dan Wilson
The first day of the latest aboriginal deer hunt in Short Hills Provincial Park in Niagara, Ontario took place this November 21 and will continue through the dates of November 22nd, 23rd and 24th, and again for another four day stretch running November 28th through December 1st, with animal advocacy groups and other residents vowing to stage protests around the perimeter of the park.
The decision by the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario Parks to permit these hunts, which allow native hunters to use a bow and arrows only and not rifles, has continued to draw opposition from many who do not believe any hunting should be allowed in an area that is supposed to be a nature preserve.
Others, including some who are farming around the park, which sprawls across the municipal boundaries of St. Catharines, Thorold and Pelham, favour a limited hunt as a way of thinning out what the Ministry of Natural Resources claims is an over-population of deer consuming native plants and crops growing in the area.
Unfortunately, there have also been reports of name calling, with native people saying they have been the target of racist comments by some protesters while some supporters of the hunt have mocked opponents with names like ‘Bambi lovers’ and have gone so far as to charge most or all of those protesting the hunt motived by feelings of racism
None of that kind of behaviour is helpful of course and it certainly doesn’t apply to some of the people Iike Dan Wilson and Catherine Ens who I have covered as a reporter through their involvement in the animal movement for many years.
What I think we should be discussing and debating as a larger community is whether any hunting, by any group, should be allowed at all in a park that is supposed to be there for the protection and preservation of what is left of the wildlife and habitat areas in a region that been so taken over by urban sprawl and other human activities that there are all too few places like Short Hills left.
When government agencies like the Ministry of Natural Resources advocate a “cull” or “harvest” or whatever else they may call what is in fact a “kill” for the purposes of “managing” wildlife populations, I immediately begin to think of countless examples of how poor a record these agencies have had for decades when it comes to protecting natural resources. I think of how weak they have often been when it comes to speaking out against suburban and other forms of sprawling development that has destroyed so much habitat, it has left hundreds of species in this province alone on threatened or endangered list.
I would urge all of us who are discussing and debating over this hunt in the Short Hills park to gone on the website for the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and download a copy of Commissioner Gord Miller’s recent report titled ‘Laying Siege To The Last Line Of Defence – A Review of Ontario’s Weakened Protections for Species at Risk’ that you can find by clicking on www.eco.on.ca .
I would also urge more people to take their concerns for wildlife beyond the perimeter of this park and express them the rest of the year to our provincial and federal members of parliament and at municipal meetings where development plans that may take out more habitat animals, birds and other forms of life are being tabled for approval the rest of the year.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
Thanks to NAL and Doug Draper for drawing attention to this important issue. I would like to write more but I have spent the day demonstrating against the deer hunt at the Pelham Road entrance to Short Hills Park. Readers should know that on Oct 7, St Catharines City Council unanimously agreed to send a letter to Premier Wynne to ask her to stop the deer hunt because it poses a threat to public safety. Likewise, on Oct 31, Niagara Regional Council unanimously agreed to send a similar letter to Premier Wynne asking her to stop the hunt based on concern for public safety. Both letters expressed respect for treaty rights but also a desire for the Park to remain a safe-haven for it’s inhabitants and to remain open for the enjoyment of the public. No response was received.
All concerned citizens are welcome to join us and voice their concerns. If you can only come for a while, come at 4 p.m. (Saturday &/or Sunday). People will be there from 6 a.m., but we need the biggest presence from 4 p.m. If (and I say if), the police block off Pelham Road closer to St. Catharines, then please take an alternate route to the corner of Pelham Road and Effingham Road (Henry of Pelhams Winery) and walk down Pelham Road to the demo…the police should not stop you from walking on Pelham Road. Please dress very warmly, it is suppose to be very cold!
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To see a short video on January’s deer hunt please go to
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Thank you Doug for your endless support of our planet and all who live on it. Your point about record keeping is so on target. Your point about destroying the habitats of our non-human planet dwellers is even more on target. Everyone knows that history repeats itself and depletes itself because we are not diligent enough to vet each and every level of our government’s political candidates. We all need to be relentless in making sure that whoever we vote for is just as concerned as we are that what floral and fauna species we have left continues to thrive and not go the way of the Dodo bird! It really is not difficult to question candidates and their parties about this. What is difficult is if they respond with integrity and not reverse their opinions. In a perfect world integrity would be the norm but in politics it is frequently dropped as soon as elections are over. Our planet and ALL on it are in crisis. We need to put enormous effort in choosing our leadership carefully. We also need to come up with a sturdy law that will impeach those who do not follow through with the reasons they were elected. No excuses about how they tried but got outvoted or rethought the issues…just plain do what the electors were told you would do or hit the road to make room for the next politician to prove that what they were elected for is what they will do. I know elections cost money and I know our elected folks are paid well so maybe there should be an incentive that motivates the elected to do what’s right so their pension or perk fund or even their salary should have a percentage held back to help fund a new election that is only needed when they fail. Aren’t most people’s incomes dependent upon their ability to do their jobs? It’s time that everyone working in our government in a political post should be held to the standards every other employee is held to. I am against the deer hunt. I am an animal activist. I am not anti tradition or anti progress. I am anti stupidity and anti cruelty and I don’t give a flying leap what nationality, race or culture anyone is. I do care that compassion, peace and intelligence get a chance to be prevalent so that our world will survive with as many species, be they flora, fauna, human and non-human, as we have now. We can never get back what we have lost so far but we damn well need to make it priority number one to keep what we have and immediately cease the destructive path we are on. Nature will only take so much and our climate is sending us some strong messages. Most of us want this planet to be a healthy place for our family’s generations to come. Those who don’t understand what dangerous times we face are delusional.
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It is a fact that Short Hills can only sustain a small population of deer, and once that is reached, the deer will go hungry and fight for survival, they will invade the roads and get killed in traffic, causing people to die when they hit a vehicle, do the Canadian people not remember what happened, to the inhabitants of Easter Island? when they had chopped down every tree, they had no way to make boats to go someplace else, in the end they all died of starvation. leaving behind huge stone heads looking out to sea, as a reminder that people once lived there. The deer cull has to happen, as unsavory as the choice is, it is the humane answer to the facts.
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The MNR have repeatedly stated this is not a cull. Hunting with bows and arrow is not a humane way to kill an animal. Today one was shot thru the abdomen and was chased onto private property. MNR had to shoot it in the head to end its suffering.
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Thank you Sheila and to the many others that were out demonstrating.
There were two (that we know of) deer that were wounded and needed to be killed by a ministry (“natural resources”) officer.
To the government. Stop this insanity now! This is 2013, not 1813.
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An update: one deer was killed today; four day total 20 (if you can believe anything MNR says). Hunters brought in 2 children to hunt: ages approx 10 and 13. There were 14 officers in attendance to “subdue” a group of 13 unarmed female demonstrators. Three were seniors and except for me none weighed over 140lbs. We were all manhandled. Your tax dollars at work.
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The natives have no right and no claim to anything at all in Niagara Region, they Surrendered this land and all rights to it including hunting and fishing. There is no treaty in this area, Now that I know about it, I will stop it dead in its tracks next year by force, this is an act of war and not sure what the MNR is up to here causing a rift.
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If our history of Niagara is correct, a huge swath of land 3 miles wide on both sides of the Niagara River was ceded to the British Crown, after a horrible massacre took place on the New York side, at what is known as Devils hole, 300 settlers were killed by disgruntled Senecas ,The Seneca’s used to tote (carry) goods for the French to Fort Niagara, they lost this right when the Fort changed hands, the British decided that the goods could be moved by wagon and save money.hence the massacre, The Seneca’s fearing a retaliation and a war with the British, ceded their control of the river, prior to that the Neutral Indians had control, but they were massacred after sickness wiped out the Huron peoples, the Hurons were protectors of the Neutral native people, hence the name Neutral.
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Let me repeat: THERE ARE NO TREATY RIGHTS IN NIAGARA REGION!
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