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Gateholio
10-13-2006, 04:28 PM
I was asked by a non hunting farmer the other day if he coudl shoot some deer that were eating all his crops.

I said I thought it was legal todo so, no permit required, but I woudl get back to him.

Anyone?

BCrams
10-13-2006, 04:32 PM
Nope, not legal.

Rainwater
10-13-2006, 04:38 PM
Not legal, offer your services or have him let other hunters on the property.

Gateholio
10-13-2006, 04:41 PM
How do farmers deal with crop raiders, then? Or predators attacking livestock?

(Other than the obvious solution of inviting hunters- But hunters cannot shoot the does):confused:

Rainwater
10-13-2006, 04:57 PM
In Region 8 it is fencing, some use cougar scat if they can get it from a game farm, human hair in your wifes old panty hose and bars of soap. As we speak now a plan is being sought after by farmers in the Peace to be mitigated for their loss's. An open can of worms for sure. Next I'll be wanting some dough when the quail eat field of barley. Cattle farmers want compensation for crop depredation even after their cows have grazed forage needed by wildlife, I guess it's pretty easy to see who's gonna loose in these situations, the game. IMO

Bigbuckadams
10-13-2006, 05:25 PM
Not legal, although it doesn't stop some. I have found over a dozen deer in the past on a friends ranch that have been shot with shotguns, most likely using buckshot. It has slowed down the past 2-3 years as the orchardists below the ranch have put in deer fencing. Coincidence? I think not :mad: . One thing to shoot to scare them, but to hit em in the guts, gives the deer just enough left to run up the hill ( out of the orchard ) and die. Had to put down a beautiful 4X4 Mulie that was all shot up, festering and hobbled about 4 years ago. He had been hit in the legs and stomach with probably BB's or #2 shot.
There are products, natural and man-made, that will deter deer from entering a field, but nothing is foolproof. Permits for shooting "pesty" deer, I am unsure if they are available to farmers or not. If they are, I would imagine they would require a great deal of proof in regards to crop damage and whole lotta paperwork.

Gateholio
10-13-2006, 05:33 PM
Pretty interesting. The rules must differ for predators of livestock, rather than crops.

The cattlemans livelihood is more importantthan the farmers, it seems!8-) :lol:

rocksteady
10-13-2006, 05:35 PM
Not legal for crops....HOWEVER, if wildlife (coyotes, foxes etc) are harassing "livestock" under the livestock Act, he has the authority to protect his stock, and can semi-legally kill any predator near the critters...

Most do, CO's don't seem to have issue with it...All are happy...

If this is such a big issue, I would refer the guy to the CO Service to get their read on it...

Bow Walker
10-13-2006, 05:47 PM
Gates..........As you can see in the Blenkinsop Shooting thread, we have much the same problem down here in la - la land.

Gateholio
10-13-2006, 05:55 PM
Not legal for crops....HOWEVER, if wildlife (coyotes, foxes etc) are harassing "livestock" under the livestock Act, he has the authority to protect his stock, and can semi-legally kill any predator near the critters...

Most do, CO's don't seem to have issue with it...All are happy...

If this is such a big issue, I would refer the guy to the CO Service to get their read on it...

"The deer were attacking my chickens"

:lol: :lol:

I odn't think it woudl fly...8-)

Steeleco
10-13-2006, 08:28 PM
A farmer that has a huge cranberry bog not far from here has let some people shoot geese on his property under the crop control provision. The area in question is deep in a no shooting area, yet it's tolerated. I wonder why the difference in rules between animals and birds?

mark
10-13-2006, 08:37 PM
I think any land owners with critter problems should just us hunters in there and take care of em! LEH draws for doe problems, archers for city limits situations!

Gateholio
10-14-2006, 01:27 AM
The problem in Reg 2 is that we have no doe LEH for some silly reason...we used to have one about 10 yrs ago, but not anynmore.

Makes no sense to me, as we have a SHITLOAD of does!!8)

tmarschall
10-14-2006, 04:54 AM
Well... we still have the right to pretect our property down here regardless of what the "predators" are.... 2 legs, 4 legs... makes no difference. The only catch is, when it comes to deer and such, they have to lay in the field and rot, you cannot claim them and eat them. Thats the law anyways. In reality I think many of them are salvaged and given to charities!

harbinger
10-18-2006, 04:28 PM
Yo Gatehouse,
I was just out hunting and checked the regs on something (can't remember what) and came across something in the regs that says you CAN kill critters to protect your crops. I don't have regs in front of me but I 'm sure thats what i read. I'll check the website and get back to you.

Tuffcity
10-18-2006, 08:08 PM
Has he dropped in or phoned the local CO office to see about a permit for crop depredation? I know orchardists that have 'em.

RC

Elkhound
10-19-2006, 03:51 PM
The problem in Reg 2 is that we have no doe LEH for some silly reason...we used to have one about 10 yrs ago, but not anynmore.

Makes no sense to me, as we have a SHITLOAD of does!!8)

I wish.........here on the coast the does are everywhere as well

Ian F.
10-19-2006, 03:56 PM
Steelco,

Take a look at the new map, all but Langley proper you can shoot for crop protection with permission.


And..


How bout calling a CO and asking if they issue permits? I know they do in Ontario.

Ian

J_T
10-19-2006, 04:00 PM
If it were legal to kill an ungulate that is preying on a farmer's crop there would be about 200 dead elk per farm in the East Kootenay Trench.

It is not legal for a farmer to alledge and justify that he is protecting his crop.

Although I hear there is rumblings afoot to consider giving a rancher a harvest quota that he can do as he pleases with. This is not a good idea. The rich will hunt, and the farmer will start to farm/feed animals, complain they are on the rise, just to get more permits. If he does it right, the size of a bull can increase to trophy size and his $1,000 permit just climbed to a $10,000 hunt.

What needs to occur is a better use of hunters in critical conflict areas.

There must be a grasslands strategy, winter range enhancement and transitional range management to ensure wildlife have ample habitat off the private land.

Presently the use of fencing is in play and will likely cause longer term damage.

Gatehouse, (IMHO) if your friend is having difficulty, it is his responsibility to use the resources that exist, gather information (how many deer? At what loss in terms of dollars) and speerhead a campaign for change. Perhaps enhanced hunting opportunity on his land. Or a 'controlled' youth only season on his private land will meet his needs.

JT

harbinger
10-19-2006, 04:16 PM
The reg I was refering to was the 100m rule for shooting near an occupied building. It just says that persons protecting livestock and crops are exempt from the rule, not that you can shoot critters to protect yer crops. FYI

Secrets of the Hunt
05-11-2007, 08:42 AM
In 2006 while hunting unsuccesfully for elk in region 7B we noticed aa
new private land elk season,so trying to be somewhat oppertunistic
we aproached several ranchers trying to recieve permission to hunt
on thier land.While it has allways been instilled in myself and my partner
to treat the land and land owner with respect we were denied access to the property after offering our labour on his land.These are the same ranchers that are complaning about crop predation,and the ministry
has provided several private land hunts trying to help ranchers with
crop predation issues.Just wondering what the ranches issues are now

Wildman
05-11-2007, 10:33 AM
"The deer were attacking my chickens"

:lol: :lol:

I odn't think it woudl fly...8-)

Haha.............

Gunner
05-11-2007, 11:36 AM
If I recall a number of years ago the ranchers in the Christian Valley were complaining about elk tearing up their hay,and when the CO's wouldn't solve their problem they whistled up the local Native band.Problem solved,but quite a few elk got whacked.In Saskatchewan you cannot get crop compensation unless you allow hunters on your land.It should be the same in BC. Gunner

Buck
05-12-2007, 11:26 PM
I hunt a ranch in the E.K and he has a problem with elk and deer.Elk only come on a night same with most of the deer.Even with limited entry cow its tough because they are gone in the morning.Very frustrating for the ranchers.You have to spend the night on the hill and catch them coming back to bed or forget it.

freeman6
01-03-2008, 05:54 PM
Don't open the can of worms that Mrs Bosovitch did when she had the Okanogan bands "deal" with the elk on her property in the Christian Valley. I think that is the link that got the island band's the right to pit-lamp legally in the Supreme Court.