Oak Bay councillors have agreed to increase the fine
for feeding deer within municipal boundaries to $300 from $100 for a
first offence. Fines for second and subsequent offences will be
$500.
“It was felt that we needed to send a very strong message to anyone who is feeding deer, because it just makes the problem worse,” said Mayor Nils Jensen.
“It also is very unhealthy for the deer, who get used to grain or whatever it is they are being fed and then are unable to go back to a more natural diet.”
The fine was set at $100 in 2010 when Oak Bay last amended its animal control bylaw to prohibit feeding the likes of deer, rabbits and raccoons. Since that time, staff have begun to tally the costs associated with deer removal and disposal, and have found that the costs merit a fine increase.
Jensen expects staff to bring back the bylaw amendments next week.
He said he has heard only anecdotal reports of people feeding deer.
The municipality disposed of about 40 deer in 2013 at an estimated cost of $130 each for a total of about $5,000.
Before a cull is undertaken, the municipality will have to undertake a deer count and create a plan based on the count.
Under the deer cull, the municipality will partner with the CRD to have 25 deer trapped and killed, with the venison, hide, antlers and hooves going to Songhees First Nation. The cull could happen in the fall at the earliest, Jensen said.
In Cranbrook, it’s not treated as a ticketable offence but, subject to prosecution with fines of up to $10,000 on conviction.
bcleverley@timescolonist.com
“It was felt that we needed to send a very strong message to anyone who is feeding deer, because it just makes the problem worse,” said Mayor Nils Jensen.
“It also is very unhealthy for the deer, who get used to grain or whatever it is they are being fed and then are unable to go back to a more natural diet.”
The fine was set at $100 in 2010 when Oak Bay last amended its animal control bylaw to prohibit feeding the likes of deer, rabbits and raccoons. Since that time, staff have begun to tally the costs associated with deer removal and disposal, and have found that the costs merit a fine increase.
Jensen expects staff to bring back the bylaw amendments next week.
He said he has heard only anecdotal reports of people feeding deer.
The municipality disposed of about 40 deer in 2013 at an estimated cost of $130 each for a total of about $5,000.
“So far this year, if we continue
at the pace that’s been set halfway through February, we’re
going to exceed the 40, and we might see as many as 50 deer
killed, mostly on our roads,” Jensen said. “There have been as
many as six this year where police have attended and had to put the
animal down because of extreme injuries.”
Oak Bay is working with the Capital Regional
District on a deer management strategy, endorsed by council last
November, that will include a deer cull later this year. Part of the
program includes public education, and updating of bylaws and bylaw
enforcement, say municipal staff.
at the pace that’s been set halfway through February, we’re
going to exceed the 40, and we might see as many as 50 deer
killed, mostly on our roads,” Jensen said. “There have been as
many as six this year where police have attended and had to put the
animal down because of extreme injuries.”Before a cull is undertaken, the municipality will have to undertake a deer count and create a plan based on the count.
Under the deer cull, the municipality will partner with the CRD to have 25 deer trapped and killed, with the venison, hide, antlers and hooves going to Songhees First Nation. The cull could happen in the fall at the earliest, Jensen said.
The aim of the $12,500 initiative is to reduce the
number of deer killed by automobiles
and to appease residents who have long complained about deer taking
over backyards, munching on garden shrubs and flowers, and devouring
homegrown vegetables.
Oak Bay’s new fine structure is not out of line
with those fines for feeding deer in other municipalities, according
to a staff report. Fines in other municipalities include: Central
Saanich, $250; Esquimalt, $100; Saanich, $100; Victoria, $300;
Kimberley, $500; and Invermere, $100 for a first offence and $250
subsequently.
and to appease residents who have long complained about deer taking
over backyards, munching on garden shrubs and flowers, and devouring
homegrown vegetables.In Cranbrook, it’s not treated as a ticketable offence but, subject to prosecution with fines of up to $10,000 on conviction.
bcleverley@timescolonist.com
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