No jive turkey!

MNR News Release

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Ontario is giving hunters more opportunities to hunt wild turkey in southern Ontario.

A new fall wild turkey season is now in place in specific Wildlife Management Units in southeastern and southwestern Ontario. The new fall season allows hunters to take one bird from October 14 to 26 during 2008.

The spring wild turkey season was also recently expanded on St. Joseph Island and in the Bracebridge and Minden areas. Wild turkey populations have rebounded and are healthy nearly 25 years after being reintroduced in the province. Since 1984, Ontario has worked with partners, including the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and the National Wild Turkey Federation, to recover populations of this bird.

QUOTES

“The tremendous success of the wild turkey restoration project has made it possible to increase fall hunting opportunities in many parts of the province,” said Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield. “I

Encourage turkey hunters to visit the Information Updates for Hunters on my ministry’s website and carefully review the new regulations before heading out to the field this fall.”

“A new fall wild turkey hunting season is welcome news,” said OFAH Executive Director Mike Reader. “It means more time in the field for Ontario’s turkey hunting enthusiasts, and it will have economic benefits for the many communities that rely on the outdoors industry.”

QUICK FACTS

Wild turkey disappeared from Ontario in 1909 due to unregulated hunting and habitat loss.

About 4,400 wild turkeys were released beginning in 1984 at 275 sites across the province as part of the effort to restore this bird. There are now over 70,000 wild turkeys in Ontario.

A new record spring turkey harvest for 2008 of 10,492 birds demonstrates the continued health and growth of the provincial wild turkey population.

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