Good evening.

Tonight, I will introduce you to the organization that I represent, the Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs du Québec.

Founded in 1946 by English speaking Montreal residents, today the federation represents almost 300 fishing and hunting associations throughout the province and is divided into 15 regional chapters.

I am the president of the federation’s Montreal, Laval and Montérégie regional chapter.

In Quebec, we have over 300 volunteer instructors who teach future hunters how to hunt safely, thanks to whom there have been only 2 accidents for 100,000 participants compared to more than 600 incidents in volleyball. If there were 600 hunting accidents each year in Quebec, politicians would have started long ago to earn political capital out of hunting as they do out of firearms.

Our regional chapter has approximately 50 member associations and over 50 volunteer instructors.

Hunting: is it really important????
Long before the arrival of the first settlers, native peoples hunted, not for sport, but to insure their livelihood.

The first settlers also hunted for their food for more than 400 years and, if they had been unable to do so, who knows what would have become of them.

The first sport hunters legitimized hunting as a form of sport towards the end of the 19th century.

Because of the reduction in herds, sport hunters asked the government to introduce laws to protect wild fauna.

Today, hunting is a sport enjoyed by over 300,000 people in Quebec and it attracts numerous hunters from outside the province.

What a hunter must do to practice his/her sport:

·	Take a course to learn how to use a firearm ($67)
·	Take an introductory course on hunting with a firearm ($37)
·	Submit a request to obtain a permit to possess and purchase a firearm ($60 / 5 years)
·	Purchase a firearm and munitions
·	Practice shooting at a shooting club accredited by the Sûreté du Québec (approximately $100 / year)
·	Purchase the required equipment (clothing, boots, etc.)
·	Often pay to rent hunting land
·	Why do all this???

Does hunting have a place in today’s society???

·	Here are a few facts about Quebec’s best known large game animal: the white-tailed deer.
·	Its population is evaluated at more than 300,000 heads in Southern Quebec.
·	It is estimated that there have been over 6,000 collisions involving large game animals on Quebec roads.
·	Farmers are desperately trying to find a way to counter losses due to deer damage.
·	Insurance companies are pressuring the government to lower white-tailed deer numbers.
·	It is feared that the white-tailed deer transmits a chronic debilitating disease. There are presently no known cases in Quebec and in surrounding states.

Snow geese, white geese

·	Their population is believed to have grown from 12,000 at the beginning of the century to more than 500,000 birds.
·	According to the UPA, losses incurred each spring have reached 6 million dollars over the last 10 years.

Canada geese, resident geese and the large duck population Their parasite-infested droppings cause dermatitis in humans.

Racoons Few hunters hunt racoons and this has led to overpopulation. We should thank the trappers who capture a few thousand each year.

Is hunting safe?

·	No hunting accident resulting in the death or injury of a non-hunter has been reported in Quebec.
·	There are no costs to land owners who welcome hunters, to municipalities and to society.
·	Hunting is an efficient way to control animal populations.
·	Land owners have their land watched over for free.
·	Hunting generates economic benefits for the regions.
·	In Quebec, it leads to the sale of 532,000 hunting permits and the spending of more than 300 million dollars each year.