CRD Director Muzzles Deer Advocates

Two Langford residents and I attended a meeting with the Acting Mayor of Langford on Friday, October 19, 2012. These residents were instrumental in the creation of the deer signs that are erected along the Veteran's Memorial Parkway. They are very worried that the deer in their community will face a cull as the hysteria about deer mounts in our region.

At our meeting we described our concerns about the deer management strategy currently being reviewed by the councils in the Greater Victoria Area. The Acting Mayor suggested that sharpshooting would not be considered by the Langford Council, at which time we advised her that the “Capture and Euthanize” option uses a baited trap which is collapsed on the deer after several hours and they are killed with a captive bolt gun, meaning that no projectiles would be flying around Langford. She invited the residents to present to the upcoming Protective Services Committee of Langford.

However, after speaking with Councilor Denise Blackwell, who is on the Board of the CRD Directors, she was advised that Councils will not see anything on their agendas regarding the deer management strategy until referral from the Board. It is now suggested that the residents apply to address the CRD Planning, Transportation and Protective Services Committee at the next special meeting.

The Regional Planning staff is directed to convene staff representatives from CRD municipalities and other government bodies to implement the recommended management options. The public is left in the dark regarding the process that their elected representatives are using to review these recommendations – recommendations that favour lethal management of deer – and now attempts to engage our local councils are blocked by the CRD?

The CRD has taken it upon itself to block the democratic process when residents wish to meet with their Councils. The Board has ignored deer advocates throughout it's deer management strategy process, and there is very little faith among many CRD residents that the Board will allow citizens to speak at the next Planning, Transportation and Protective Services special meeting.

Continuing the arrogance, the CRD website states “When the meeting date has been confirmed it will be posted to this page (CRD Deer Management) with an indication of whether delegations will be received at that time.”

If other residents are finding that they are unable to meet with their councils due to interference from the CRD Board, please contact DeerSafe Victoria at our website:  www.deersafevictoria.com

Widely Available and Difficult to Trace, Poaching with Crossbows is a Menace to Our Communities Right Now

Carcass of deer killed by crossbow found in Cordova Bay

timescolonist.com October 21, 2012

Another deer has been found dead with a crossbow arrow lodged in its body, Saanich police reported Sunday.

The buck took an arrow to the side and was found in the 5000 block of Del Monte Avenue in Cordova Bay.
The severely decayed carcass indicated the buck was killed four or five weeks ago. Police say the arrow was similar to that used to kill another deer this month in a lot on Ironwood Place.

Saanich police have been asking for the public’s help to identify the person responsible for the deer killing, which contravenes wildlife regulations.

Crossbows and arrows are widely available and difficult to trace to the owners, police said.

Last fall, several deer hit by arrows were found in the same area, including four that died in a two-week period. Several deer were also killed in Saanich in 2010.

In a gruesome incident in Langford, a family’s tomcat was shot in the neck with a 40-centimetre-long crossbow arrow.

Anyone with information is asked to call Saanich police at 250-475-4321.

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

WITHIN TEN DAYS FIVE DEER ARE POACHED IN INVERMERE

Invermere Suffers From Deer-Poaching Spree

By Kristian Rasmussen
Pioneer Staff

On five separate occasions from October 2nd to 12th, local conservation officers have been called out to deal with injured or dead deer that have fallen victim to poachers. These included a partially butchered fawn, a wandering buck with hanging intestines and several reports of a buck with its jaw shot off and an arrow in its back.

“We want people to be a little more vigilant if they see any suspicious hunting activities, day or night,” said Greg Kruger, Invermere conservation officer. “We are concerned for the wildlife and, because a lot of this activity is illegal, we are worried about the safety of the citizens of Invermere.”

The reports began with an injured deer wandering near Home Hardware on October 2nd.

“Its guts were hanging out,” Mr. Kruger added. “The RCMP had to put it down.”

Upon inspection, it was found that the mule deer buck had been shot with either an arrow or a bolt, the head of which was lodged in its leg.

The next incident took place on October 8th, when a resident in the area surrounding Kpokl Road reported hearing a gunshot at 10:30 p.m. Conservation officers investigated the next morning and made a startling discovery involving a mule deer fawn.

“I found the deer was poached, shot, and partially butchered,” Mr. Kruger said. “We are baffled because we don’t understand the reason why anyone would target a fawn.”

Immediately after, Mr. Kruger was redirected to another report of poaching just half a kilometer south of Kpokl Road in the area surrounding Walker Lane.

“There was a larger mule deer with its bottom jaw broken and hanging freely,” he said. “We are speculating that it was very likely shot off.”

Invermere conservation officers tried to approach the deer, but it was spooked by a passing train and ran into the surrounding wilderness. The deer was spotted again October 10th in the area of Johnson and Westside Road, but left before conservation officers could attend.

The buck was finally located on October 12th, after a resident in the Stark Drive area phoned to report that a deer was suffering badly on her property. Conservation officers put the animal down.

“I would be speculating, but it likely is a group committing these crimes,” Mr. Kruger said. “Certain individuals and poachers will target more of the trophy animals and take the risk.”
Although poachers have become more brazen in recent weeks, they face stiff penalties if caught. Those convicted of their first poaching offence face a fine of between $1,000 and $100,000 and up to a year in jail, or both.

“We do take this very seriously,” Mr. Kruger said. “It is a very serious public concern if people are discharging weapons within the municipality.”

To report poaching in the community citizens are asked to call the 24 hours Report All Poachers and Polluters line at 1-877-952-7277 or call 911.

City of Fernie to hold off on action against urban deer

By Nicole Liebermann - The Free Press
Published: October 17, 2012 2:00 PM
Updated: October 17, 2012 2:42 PM
 
Deer in Fernie can continue to roam the streets and backyards of the city safely. City council has decided not to go forward with a cull to deal with the community’s urban deer population.

A recent letter from a Fernie resident prompted council to discuss whether or not the city has a deer problem at a regular meeting held on October 9. The letter was addressed to mayor and council and asks what they intend to do about the deer population problem.

With several other Kootenay communities currently dealing with deer culls, and Invermere facing court action to defend their public involvement process following a cull, Fernie Mayor Mary Giuliano felt it was important for the city to address their deer situation with caution.

“Even if we had a horrendous deer problem, we really need to wait and see what happens with Invermere before anything could be done,” commented Giuliano. “It sounds like this process is long and it’s difficult, and if we have the same kind of animal lovers, and I think we do, that they have in Invermere, we will be facing the same kind of court problems that they are facing.”

Bear Aware Coordinator for the Elk Valley, Kathy Murray, attended the meeting and reinforced that Fernie is limited in their options when dealing with any wildlife issues. She expressed the importance of continuing to educate residents on how to avoid encounters with deer.

“The reality is that we’ve all chosen to live here in bear country and with other wildlife,” said Murray. “There are more people and more wildlife sharing our habitat, so we’re going to have to buckle up, manage attractants, and be more tolerant of wildlife.”

Council members and Murray all agreed that should anyone encounter an aggressive or problem deer, the best course of action is to call a Conservation Officer, who can immediately deal with the situation.

Cranbrook deer cull on hold over court action fears

The Canadian Press October 5, 2012

CRANBROOK — Court action launched against one southeastern B.C. town has left Cranbrook officials gun shy as they consider another cull of mule deer.
Cranbrook Mayor Wayne Stetski says Invermere council is being forced into court to defend the public involvement process used to approve its cull of 100 deer in March.
Stetski says Cranbrook relied on the same process, and he worries about repercussions if the court finds fault with Invermere's methods.
He notes problem deer in Cranbrook could be relocated, rather than shot, if opponents pay the difference between the cost of a cull and a relocation program, which is more expensive.
Urban deer have become a significant problem in the Kootenay and Okanagan, as habituated animals chase and attack dogs and people.
Cranbrook, Invermere and Kimberley have carried out culls of aggressive deer, while Grand Forks and Penticton are considering the method. (CHBZ)

A Sign of the Times in Victoria

Langford cat survives arrow to the neck in second crossbow incident this week

By Derek Spalding, Times Colonist October 6, 2012

Ozzy the cat and his owner Donna La Rose at their home in Langford. The cat is recovering after being shot with an arrow.

Photograph by: Darren Stone , timescolonist.com (September 2012)

Ozzy the tomcat is recovering in his Langford home after having a crossbow arrow removed from his neck.
Donna La Rose said the family pet had been missing for several days before he walked into their backyard on Jacklin Road with a 40-centimetre arrow sticking straight up behind its head.
The arrow penetrated Ozzy’s back, narrowly missing his shoulder and spine. The tip was sticking out from his chest.
Donna ran into the house screaming for her husband, Ron, and then phoned police.
“I don’t know who would do something like that,” she said.
This is the second incident of a crossbow being used on an animal in the Capital Regional District in a week. A dead deer with an arrow protruding from its abdomen was discovered in an empty lot last week near Cordova Bay.
Ozzy went missing Sunday, but La Rose continued putting food on the back porch, hoping that he would come home. On Friday morning, she again went out to check on him — and that’s when she saw the black and white cat walking across the yard.
The 11-year-old pet underwent surgery to have the arrow removed and is now recovering.
Ron, who hunts and fishes regularly, was surprised by how much the incident has shaken the family.
“I never would have thought something like this would bother me this much,” he said. “This is the type of thing that gives hunting a bad name.”
Langford bylaws do not allow residents to use bows and crossbows in backyards. Until last year, an exception allowed them to be used with practice tips.
“We take this matter very seriously, and we hope the public will be able to help us out,” said Cst. Alex Berube from the Westshore RCMP. “We see people shooting deer, but this is a cat — it’s pretty shocking.”
Because crossbows are so widely available, they are difficult to trace to their owners. The Mounties have collected the arrow and will try to lift fingerprints from it, but they may have to rely heavily on the public in order to make an arrest.
“Maybe someone is out there bragging about shooting a cat in the neck,” Berube said.
Westshore RCMP are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact them at 250-474-2264 .
dspalding@timescolonist.com

Presentation by the United Bowhunters of British Columbia to the Provincial Hunting Regulations and Allocations Advisory Committee February 6, 2007 (Removed from the UBBC website)

A Painful Death

Dead deer found with arrow in its abdomen

Times Colonist October 5, 2012

Saanich police are looking for whoever shot an arrow at a male deer, killing it. The dead buck was discovered Wednesday by a resident of Ironwood Place in the Claremont area.

Photograph by: Handout , Times Colonist

A juvenile male deer was shot by an arrow and died sometime later, its lifeless body found Wednesday, Saanich police say.
The arrow was protruding from the buck’s abdomen, meaning the animal likely suffered a painful and inhumane death, said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen. The deer was found in a vacant lot on Ironwood Place, near Claremont Avenue and the Patricia Bay Highway.
Shooting deer in the municipality contravenes wildlife regulations and is a concern to police, Jantzen said.
Crossbows and arrows are widely available, making it difficult to trace the hunter through the arrow. Police are relying on the public to report sightings of people with crossbows, who are likely hunting during the evening or nighttime.
There are no links between this killing and similar ones last year, police said, although they occurred in the same general area.
The motive of the hunter may be a trophy of the antlers, known as racks. While this young animal had a small rack, there are plenty in the municipality that are older and have larger, multi-point racks.
Jantzen said he hopes the public will co-operate with police, even though there are many who believe Greater Victoria has too many of the animals.
“I think, honestly, despite what the feelings might be in the community, we all enjoy living next to urban forests and these animals,” Jantzen said.
Last fall, several deer were shot with arrows, including four that died in a two-week period. Several deer were also killed in Saanich in 2010.
Saanich police are asking anyone with information to call them at .

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Legal or Illegal, This is Bow Hunting

Poacher kills deer with green arrow in Saanich

This green arrow killed a buck that was found in a grassy lot on Ironwood Place near Claremont school.

Saanich police image

By Staff Writer - Saanich News
Published: October 04, 2012 11:00 AM
Updated: October 04, 2012 4:52 PM
A person mowing a vacant lot found a dead deer yesterday with an green arrow lodged in its right abdomen, in the first case of poaching this fall.
The person found the buck in a grassy lot on Ironwood Place near Claremont high school, around 1:45 p.m., and called the Saanich pound. Officers estimate the animal had been there for a one or two days.
Saanich pound investigators suspect the poacher shot the animal with a crossbow, and it bolted and fled an unknown distance.
The area is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods, but Elk/Beaver Lake park is directly west, across the Pay Bay Highway. Herds of deer are also known to live in the Mount Doug area, to the southeast.
Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen said pound officers have tallied three or four deer shot with arrows in the Claremont area in the past few years. “That area seems to be a focal point,” Jantzen said. “This animal appears to have fled from where it was struck. It is certainly a painful way to go.”
A photo released by the Saanich police shows the buck covered in flies, with an arrow with dark green fletchings (feathers) protruding from is rear-mid abdomen.
Saanich had nine known deer poaching instances in the fall of 2010, and four last fall, where people found animals with arrow wounds or with heads and limbs cut off. Witnesses reported a few living deer walking around with arrows sticking out of their bodies.
“This is a safety issue as much as a wildlife issue. Crossbows shoot with significant velocity and are capable of dropping a deer,” Jantzen said. “They are a high-velocity weapon.”
Police are reminding people that deer hunting in urban Greater Victoria is illegal, and contravenes municipal bylaws. Discharging weapons, including crossbows, in an urban area can bring criminal charges.
Anyone witnesses poaching or has information on this incident can call Saanich police at 250-475-4321.
editor@saanichnews.com