A proposal for the return of a sandhill crane hunting season to parts of Ontario is currently under consideration by the Canadian Wildlife Service. The hunting season would target the Eastern population of cranes—a group of about 100,000 birds—which is currently 62 percent above a set target from a preexisting management plan.
The proposal to reinstate the hunting season is being brought forth by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), who sees the yearly hunting season as a viable management strategy amidst a decades-long population boom that has seen the species skyrocket in numbers.
What’s the problem with too many sandhill cranes? They’re known for feasting in farmer’s fields, damaging land and compromising crops. Unlike other species, such as geese (who eat and move on), sandhill cranes will mow down significant portions of farmer’s fields before leaving.
If approved, the first hunting season could open as early as September 2026 in select Northern and Central Districts. This would include parts of the Algoma, Manitoulin Island, and French River areas, as well as the Hudson and James Bay Lowlands, among others. Hunting would be restricted to farmland and there would be a limit of one crane per hunter per day, setting a daily bag limit of one, and a possession limit also of one. Similar hunting seasons already exist along the bird’s migration route in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
“In the springtime, sandhill cranes will go row to row in corn fields and eat the seeds to the point where some farmers have lost entire fields,” says Matthew Robbins, a wildlife biologist with the Ontario Federation of Hunters and Anglers (OFAH). Robbins also says the cranes trample farmer fields. “It ends up costing farmers a fair bit of money in damages,” he says.
Specific crops at risk include potatoes, and grains like corn, wheat, and barley. Sandhill crane destruction has gotten so bad that some potato farmers have even resorted to planting “lure crops,” such as barley, just to draw the birds away from their spuds.
ECCC is hoping that the hunting proposal, if approved, will help farmers mitigate this kind of crop damage. They also say it’ll provide an opportunity for hunters to sustainably harvest a species for human consumption. Robbins refers to their meat as “the rib-eye of the sky.” He compares it to that of a steak or duck breast.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has expressed support for the proposal. “OFA members, particularly those in northern Ontario have long voiced the problem of significant crop damages caused by the growing Sandhill Crane population,” reads a statement on the OFA’s website. It goes on to say that, while the OFA supports the proposal “in principle,” other recommendations should be considered, such as increasing harvest limits, beginning the hunting season earlier, and expanding the area in which sandhill crane hunting would be permitted.
Of note is that the birds almost went extinct in the early 1900s due to overhunting, so the decision to reinstate the season is a delicate one. But the ECCC maintains that they only expect hunting to “slow the growth of Sandhill Cranes in Ontario” as opposed to decrease their populations significantly. Robbins echoes this: “The proposed hunt is not anticipated to cause any decline in the population,” he says. “Rather, it might slow the growth that we’re seeing, which is quite dramatic.”
Whether the proposal will be given the green light remains to be seen, but agricultural and hunting organizations that have been calling for the return of a sandhill crane hunting season for years are hopeful. “We’ve been working with ECCC and CWS for around two decades, advocating for a season if it is determined to be viable,” says Robbins. “Finally, we’re able to say that this is a very viable option.”
If implemented, the hunt would be closely monitored by the ECCC for the first four years to ensure Ontario’s sandhill crane population remains at a sustainable level, the proposal says. A similar proposal is also being considered for Quebec.
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