The 1997 controlled hunt in Lambton and Kent counties was extended by two days last fall to which provided a six-day December hunt. The Friday and Saturday hunt days were added following an MNR review of the southern Ontario controlled deer hunt program. The review recommended standardized seasons across all Wildlife Management Units (WMU) and opportunities for increased recreational hunting in areas with adequate deer populations.
During the six-day hunt, a record 455 deer were taken in WMU 93, almost 400 of them from Lambton County. Other high harvest years were 1991 (424 deer) and 1995 (414 deer). Ministry staff recorded biological information from 218 deer during the expanded shotgun season. The 1998 controlled deer hunt will again offer six days of hunting and will take place from November 30 to December 5, 1998.
In the special deer hunt (Wildlife Management Unit 93C) held in portions of Bosanquet Township adjacent to Pinery Provincial Park, 87 deer were taken in the four-month deer season which ran from late August to the end of December. This harvest was up from the 55 deer taken in 1996 but still below the 1992 to 1994 average of 120 deer. This shotgun/archery hunt will again take place in 1998 through a co-operative arrangement between MNR and the Lake Smith Conservationists. Mandatory reporting by archery hunters of their hunting activities came into effect for the 1997 season. Preliminary results from 277 archery hunters indicated a harvest of 69 deer in WMU 93 for a success rate of 25 per cent. The archery season was also lengthened in 1997, moving it ahead two weeks to October 1 from the traditional opening date of October 15.
MNR Conservation Officers have been busy throughout southwestern Ontario over the past year. Five COs in MNR's Chatham office cover enforcement needs in Lambton County and area. MNR's Lake Huron Management Unit also provides a CO for enforcement work on lower Lake Huron.
In 1997, the five Chatham officers laid 316 charges as a result of their patrols and investigations. These charges resulted in over $20,000 in fines. Fines and money raised from the sale of licenses are deposited into a special purpose account and used to improve angling and hunting in Ontario.
Recently, the Farmers and Friends Conservation Club and the Rural Lambton Stewardship Network purchased a coyote and a turkey decoy for the use of Cos. "These decoys really assist us in our enforcement efforts and we applaud these groups for their generosity and community spirit," said Ed Vervoort, MNR enforcement supervisor in Aylmer.
A deer decoy used by Conservation Officers during last fall's controlled deer hunt in Lambton and Kent counties resulted in nine charges against five individuals. Six other charges were also laid in Lambton during the six-day hunt. Officers were assisted by Sky, one of MNR's detector dogs, who accompanies officers on some field investigations.
