ANNUAL REPORT, 19 43-44 



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Reports from most of these areas indicate some slight increase. 



BUFFALO: — A small herd of buffalo was brought into Ontario from Alberta in 

 1939, and they were placed on the Burwash Crown Game Preserve. Improvement 

 or increase has been negligible. 



BEAR: — These animals are fairly plentiful throughout the northern portion of 

 the Province and in the northern Districts of southern Ontario. While they do pro- 

 vide a measure of sport in which a goodly number of hunters participate, and in this 

 connection it is interesting to note that such hunting in the months of April, May 

 and June has an appeal for United States hunters who visit Ontario for this purpose, 

 nevertheless this species has in more recent years become somewhat of a nuisance, 

 particularly in some of the more thickly settled sections in the north, where they 

 have been responsible for damage among domestic herds and flocks, and due to this 

 very undesirable condition it has been necessary to provide a regulation to encour- 

 age the destruction of bears in such settled areas and under which regulation pro- 

 vision is made for the payment of a bounty on these animals which are killed in 

 certain defined areas. Detailed results of the operations under this Regulation are 

 included elsewhere in this Report. 



RABBITS: — The three species of rabbit which are most prevalent in Ontario are 

 the cotton-tail rabbit, the European Hare (or jack-rabbit), and the varying hare 

 (or snowshoe rabbit). The cotton tail rabbit is found in most of the southern 

 counties, the jack rabbit in the southwestern counties, and the snowshoe rabbit in 

 the northern portion of the Province and in the northern districts and eastern coun- 

 ties of southern Ontario, 



Reports to the Department indicate that as a general rule these animals 

 were plentiful, though there were areas in scattered portions of the Province in 

 which such conditions did not exist and in which these animals were reported to be 

 not so plentiful and their numbers somewhat decreased. Information regarding 

 diminished numbers of cotton-tail rabbits was received from a majority of counties 

 in southeastern Ontario, and advice of similar conditions with respect to the snow- 

 shoe rabbit came from eastern counties as well as from some of the northern Ontario 

 districts. 



Generally speaking, rabbits continued to provide a goodly proportion of the 

 desirable hunting which is available, particularly in the late fall and early winter 

 months. 



PARTRIDGE: — as a general rule reports were not so favourable regarding condi- 

 tions applicable to the various species of partridge as had been the case in previous 

 years, though they continued to be sufficiently plentiful to warrant the adoption 

 of a regulation which provided for an open season for the taking of these birds. 

 Two separate periods to constitute this open season were set out in the Regulation 

 which governed, viz: — from October 2nd to 16th and from November 8th to 15th, 

 1943. The later period was in effect throughout the entire Province, excepting in 

 Provincial Parks and Crown Game Preserves, and during the October period such 

 hunting was prohibited not only in the Parks and Crown Game Preserves, but also 

 in the Counties of Essex and Kent and in the Townships established as Regulated 

 Game Preserve Areas, though in Essex, Kent and Lambton and the Regulated Town- 

 ships provision was made for the hunting of partridge during the period which was 

 provided in these areas for the hunting of pheasants. The general bag limit was 

 five (5) birds per day, and not more than twenty-five (25) during the two periods. 



HUNGARIAN PARTRIDGE: — There are but few sections in the Province in which 

 these birds are to be found. They are reported to be not too plentiful in any parti- 

 cular area, and but little improvement has been observed. The sections in which 

 they are most plentiful are the very extreme southwestern and southeastern coun- 



