Thank you for your email. As mentioned in the News 1130 article to which you referred, the
Wildlife Act Wildlife Management Area Use and Access Regulation has been amended to include all 11 Wildlife Management Areas in schedules 1, 2, and 4 of the regulation. Schedule 4 states the following:
Dogs must be on leash in designated wildlife management areas
4 (1)A person commits an offence if the person enters a wildlife management area described in Schedule 4 with a dog that is not
(a)under the direct control of a person, and
(b)restrained by a leash not longer than 2 metres.
(2)This section does not apply to a person who enters the wildlife management area in order to engage in lawful hunting.
As stated by the regulation, the “dogs must be on leash” regulation
does not apply to a person who enters the WMA in order to engage in lawful hunting. In other words, off leash dogs may continue to be used for hunting in south coast WMAs (e.g., Roberts Bank, Boundary Bay, South Arm Marshes, and Pitt-Addington Marsh WMAs).
Regards,
Eric
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Eric Balke, MSc
Coordinator
South Coast Conservation Land Management Program