David Duncan is a retired waterfowl biologist and hunter.A rebuttal to HALL: Why Alberta should embrace the tundra swan hunting opportunity.In Mr. Hall’s opinion piece urging a tundra swan hunt, he argues swans are a “legitimate gamebird.” While they are considered gamebirds under the 1916 Canada-US migratory bird convention, so are fifty-plus shorebird species. Shorebirds are no longer hunted in North America (except for snipe and woodcock), so just because a species is listed under the 110-year-old convention is not a good rationale for hunting a new species.Tundra swans are indeed hunted in a few US states. These hunts are for sport hunting and recreation, not for control of the population. Just because swans are hunted in the US does not mean we need to hunt them in Canada. We make our own decisions based on what we feel is right and appropriate, based on our own rationale. Mr. Hall argues a swan hunt would be “a new experience rooted in tradition.” There is no tradition of swan hunting in Canada (the exception is some Arctic indigenous harvests). In Canada, we have a tradition of NOT hunting swans and protecting them; that is our Canadian tradition. One of the most egregious errors in Mr. Hall’s piece is his dismissal of any risk to trumpeter swans, which were only recently downgraded to sensitive from threatened in Alberta. It is well known that some trumpeter swans do and will get accidentally shot in those US states where they have a tundra swan hunt. While he says to trust the identification skills of waterfowl hunters, studies have shown that skill level is very dependent upon experience and quite often poor. As a waterfowl hunter myself, I am fully aware of the mediocre skill level of your average hunter for anything other than geese and some male ducks. As for swans, it is well known that distinguishing between the two swan species, particularly when flying, is extremely difficult for all but the very well-versed hunter/biologist/birdwatcher. Mr. Hall tried to downplay the risk to trumpeter swans by comparing it to the virtually nonexistent risk of shooting a white whooping crane during a grey sandhill crane season. That is obviously bogus to anyone other than an expert who has had swans flying overhead..As to the purported economic benefits from a swan hunt, there would only be perhaps 500 hunters allowed, who could shoot just one bird per season. Benefits from a few hundred swan licences would be minuscule, if any, compared to the economic benefits from the 22,000 migratory bird hunters in Alberta who can already shoot 66 geese and ducks every day of the season, plus cranes, coots, and snipe. There will, however, be a real cost because such a new hunt will have to be managed through a yet-to-be-developed new draw and tag system, and a new reporting system, likely needing to provide evidence to discern which species of swan was shot.So why hunt tundra swans? The fact that we can do it sustainably and that they hunt swans in some states are not answers, just attempts to justify. The motivation for the small number of people who might want to shoot one swan a year is for the novelty, or for a trophy mount, or to try eating one. Mr. Hall’s argument of “don’t let emotion override evidence” is a spurious one. Those who advocate “stick to the science” are just trying to justify it because it can be done sustainably. I don’t disagree, but that argument is a red herring. The real question is not whether we can do it, but whether we should do it. Hunting is full of personal emotion and subjective social values, no matter which side of the argument you are on. We, as hunters, do need a social licence to hunt. Angering the large non-hunting and anti-hunting community by proposing a new species hunt is not useful in maintaining support for our treasured hunting tradition. Mr. Hall concludes his missive, imploring Alberta “to lead” and “fly its own flag” while at the same time attempting to justify a swan season by having Albertans be followers of what they do in a few states.I love seeing these beautiful, gentle giants flying over me when I am out waterfowl hunting. And having personally captured and held trumpeter swans, I have become enamoured with them for their gentle disposition after being captured — they just sit calmly and gracefully waiting to be released. There’s no need for a swan hunt, Minister Todd Loewen. Do not be fooled into believing Mr. Hall’s claim that such a hunt has broad support. I know there are numerous others within the 22,000-strong waterfowl hunting community that are not supportive of a swan hunt. The risk to trumpeter swans is real, and the demand and benefits of a swan season are minuscule. The opinions of all 5 million Albertans need to be considered, not just the small fraction of the waterfowl hunters who might want to kill a swan.David Duncan is a retired waterfowl biologist and hunter.
