Proposed swan and dove hunts draw ire from Manitoba wildlife advocates

Hunting groups and wildlife experts are concerned about the possibility of two bird species being added to the hunting season.

As federal regulators consider opening two new bird hunting seasons in Manitoba, a coalition of wildlife advocates is urging the public to oppose the proposal, warning it could lead to the accidental shooting of a similar-looking endangered species.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is weighing amendments to the country’s migratory bird regulations, including the addition of hunting seasons for tundra swans and mourning doves in the Prairie provinces.

According to the 36-page Canada Wildlife Service Migratory Birds Regulatory Report, tundra swans are not currently harvested in Canada and range across North America. The report proposes an initial allocation of 400 permits in Manitoba, with a daily bag limit of one tundra swan per permit.

The potential change is drawing concern from Ted Muir, a former employee of the Manitoba Natural Resources Wildlife Branch, who said tundra swans could be mistaken for trumpeter swans—a species listed as endangered in Manitoba.

“The risk that incidental trumpeter swans are shot is foremost in our minds,” said Muir.

“You can hardly tell the difference between the two when they’re in flight. They’re very, very similar looking, and we just don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

Muir is among a group of wildlife biologists, conservation educators, and hunters who have formed a coalition opposing the changes.

He said trumpeter swans were once endangered across Canada after their numbers declined sharply during the fur trade when their skins were shipped to Europe for use in fashion and quills.

Reintroduction programs later used eggs and birds from Alaska to rebuild populations across the continent, he said, with birds from a growing population in Minnesota expanding into Manitoba.

“We’re the beneficiaries of one of the greatest wildlife conservation stories on the continent… We want those populations to grow and be strong, and we don’t want them shot off to stymie that whole introduction,” Muir said.

“We would rather the government be more proactive and ambitious and step back and assess what the population is like first of all and go from there.”

The federal report acknowledges concerns about the accidental killing of trumpeter swans but described the risk as “relatively low,” citing minimal rates of incidental harvest reported in the U.S. and the species’ limited distribution in Manitoba.

Jean-Michel DeVink, a former biologist with the Canada Wildlife Service and an adjunct professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan, said he supports both proposed hunting seasons.

DeVink said the trumpeter swan population has increased by more than 2,500 per cent since 1988, with current estimates ranging from roughly 60,000 to 80,000 birds. He said the risk to the species is “not supported by scientific evidence.”

He said the proposed change would allow Canadians to harvest a portion of the sustainable allocation that has been legally hunted in the U.S. for decades.

Mourning dove hunting season also proposed

The report described mourning doves as one of the most abundant and widely distributed birds in North America, with between 14 million and 20 million harvested annually in the United States. In Canada, three provinces currently have hunting seasons for the species.

“We think people would like the mourning dove that they hear cooing in the backyard and feeding at their feeder to fly free without being shot at before they get to the states,” Muir said.

The report said a hunting season for mourning doves could help boost hunter recruitment, citing the bird’s abundance, its wide distribution across southern Manitoba and the relatively low cost of equipment required.

According to the report, the earliest either hunting season could be implemented would be the fall of 2028.

The coalition is calling on Manitobans to write to federal and provincial officials to ask that the proposed seasons be withdrawn.

“We just think it’s wrongheaded, inappropriate, and will cause us more grief than what it’s worth,” Muir said. “We would like the whole project to be nixed.”

In a statement, an ECCC spokesperson said regulations for migratory game birds are reviewed and amended every two years in consultation with provinces, territories, and stakeholders.

“In addition to consideration of feedback received through the consultation process, ECCC uses the latest population statistics and experiences in other jurisdictions to inform this decision,” the statement reads.

The department said feedback on the proposed changes can be submitted by email or by calling 1-800-668-6767.