In the news today....

[huntwisely]

From October 21st Chronicle Herald


Irving fined $60,000 for destroying nests


BURTON, N.B. (CP) — J.D. Irving Ltd. has been fined $60,000 for destroying a blue heron habitat in New Brunswick.

The forestry giant was charged two years ago after a nesting colony was destroyed during the construction of a logging road in Cambridge Narrows, near Saint John.

The company pleaded guilty Monday in Burton provincial court to violating the Migratory Birds Convention Act.

At least a dozen blue heron nests were destroyed.

Of the $60,000 Irving was ordered to pay, $50,000 will go to environmental research by Bird Studies Canada.

[POINTY STICKS]

I don't personally think it's enough. Again BIG business gets away with doing what ever they want and then all they get is a little tap on the wrist.

[biggame]

Seismic testing OK’d in game sanctuary
Environment minister: Decision doesn’t mean firm will be allowed to drill for oil if it finds some
By JEFFREY SIMPSON and DAVID JACKSON Staff Reporters
Fri. Oct 24 - 5:09 AM
Nova Scotia has given a drilling firm permission to conduct seismic testing within a Crown-owned wildlife sanctuary in Cumberland County.

David Morse, the natural resources minister, said Thursday that Eastrock Resources Ltd. is exploring for oil in some parts of the Chignecto Game Sanctuary, a 22,082-hectare tract of land that’s home to moose and deer.

"Basically, as long as they put the brush back after they cut the strips that are necessary to do the seismic testing, then we’re agreeable," Mr. Morse said in an interview.

"We are satisfied that it’s not sufficiently intrusive that it’s going to cause any major disruption to the wildlife and we did ask for that opinion from the biologists."

Mr. Morse said the Environment and Energy departments were also involved in consultations about any possible adverse effects drilling would have on moose and other wildlife in the area before granting approval to Eastrock.

"This is something we took very seriously," he said.

"We basically hold the land in trust for the people of Nova Scotia. So we’re just trying to provide that balance between the interests of the different departments and, clearly, the people of Nova Scotia, some of whom would like to see development and some of whom want to make sure we don’t compromise the integrity of the sanctuary."

About 500 hectares of the sanctuary are privately owned and Eastrock will do most of its exploration in eight sections there.

But the firm also wanted to cross into Crown-owned land in a few places, Mr. Morse said.

Eastrock’s approval to do testing in the sanctuary doesn’t mean that it will be automatically allowed to drill for oil if it finds some, he said.

"That is only a first step," he said. "There would be a whole battery of approvals that they’d have to obtain if they find oil or gas.

"They would have to go through a very extensive approval process.

"They do take the risk that they may find reserves and still do not satisfy the approval process."

The sanctuary was created in 1937 with the hope of preserving and boosting the population of moose in the area. The mainland moose is an endangered species.

The Ecology Action Centre, a past opponent of clearcutting in the sanctuary, opposes the testing.

"The sanctuary needs a moratorium on new industrial developments because every development, be it clearcutting or cutting these lines, just further carves up the habitat for animals like moose into smaller and smaller pieces," said Kermit deGooyer, the centre’s conservation planner.

"Wildlife like moose are very sensitive to large blocks of habitat being fragmented into smaller pieces."

Mr. deGooyer said he’s also concerned about the possibility of ATV riders using the lines after the testing is done.

An Eastrock official couldn’t be reached for comment.

The area consists of about 19,778 hectares of woodland, 1,864 hectares of water and wetlands and 125 hectares of barrens, with the rest made up of roads.

[ARROW SLINGER]

NOVA SCOTIA is now arbalest friendly.

Beginning Friday, modern crossbows may be carried into provincial forests by hunters in search of white-tailed deer during the general open hunting season, commonly known as the rifle season.

One advantage of toting a crossbow is that the arbalest (crossbow shooter) can legally discharge his or her weapon a lot closer to a dwelling than can a hunter with a high-powered rifle.

Provincial regulations say a crossbow may be used within 182 metres of someone’s house or business, while a rifle can’t be fired any closer than 402 metres from such structures.

No one can hunt or shoot a bow or a gun within 804 metres of a school.

More people may also take up the sport of hunting because a special purchasing licence like the kind needed to buy a gun is not needed to buy a bow, said Tim Whynot, in charge of hunter education in Nova Scotia.

Crossbows may work nicely in a little patch of Nova Scotia known as Deer Management Zone 2A, say some who sell hunting supplies.

It’s a niche carved out of the larger Deer Management Zone 2, which encompasses much of the western mainland.

Zone 2A is located along the South Shore, mostly in Lunenburg County, where folks say the deer are taking over.

"They’ve got so many deer there they’ve got to get rid of them somehow," said Ricky Comeau, one of the Nova Scotia directors of the Federation of Canadian Archers and a bowhunting instructor/retailer from Saulnierville, Digby County.

Another bowhunting supply dealer from Halifax County said hunters have been waiting for this moment.

"They’ve got such a pile of nuisance deer around urban areas that they’ve got to have something to thin them out with, and rifles definitely won’t be used in those areas," the shop owner said Tuesday.

He suggested landowners would be more likely to allow crossbow hunters on their property instead of rifle shooters.

"The danger’s not there," he said. "Arrows die very quickly."

Most crossbow instructors agree a maximum crossbow range of 35 to 40 metres in open country is about as good as can be expected.

The bolts (arrows) weigh less than regular arrows because they’re a bit shorter. Their flight will drop off faster as a result of less kinetic energy, said Mr. Comeau.

The Natural Resources Department agrees that a good thinning out of some deer populations is needed.

Deer Management Zone 2A is a case in point, said Mr. Whynot.

"It’s heavily populated with people . . . as well," he said Tuesday.

That’s why crossbows make good sense for that area.

The plan was to have crossbows in use for the 2009 hunting season, but the government decided to move a little faster.

Special crossbow training is coming, too.

"We still have those details to work out," said Mr. Whynot.

Those who are already bowhunters likely won’t require any, he said.

A crossbow is not hand-released. It’s trigger-released, like a rifle.

"They are considered to be a safe weapon for hunting," said Mr. Whynot

[POINTY STICKS]

LOCAL NEWS



Last updated at 12:09 AM on 30/10/08

More women out for the kill in Nova Scotia
SHERRY MARTELL
The Truro Daily News

TRURO — The number of women hunting in the province is slowly on the rise.
Tony Rogers, executive director of the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters, said many women are getting into the sport to spend time with husbands or boyfriends while others are inspired by the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program introducing participants to a variety of outdoor sports.
Annually, about 1,000 people participate in the hunter education program facilitated by the federation for the province.
“The number of ladies coming into the program is probably about 10 per cent of what it would be for men participating,” he said.
“Whether they become and stay long-term hunters, I can’t speak to that.”
About 88,000 people in Nova Scotia have been issued wildlife resources cards needed to purchase a hunting licence. Rogers said that number represents about 10 per cent of the population enjoying hunting as a healthy outdoor activity.
“It is an activity you can start at a very young age and continue for many, many years,” he said.
“Many sports don’t lend themselves to that.”

[e-mail]

[ARROW SLINGER]

Didnt they have this problem before???

We offer a safe nieghbor friendly solution but nooooo!, big bang sticks,greed, and lack of respect are going to spoil it again

HOPEFULLY it turns out to be promotion material for our Bowhunting offers? and doesnt screw everything up!

Three N.S. hunters facing charges of hunting too close to homes
3 hours ago

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. — Parts of Lunenburg County overrun by deer are now apparently being overrun by hunters.

And not all of them are following basic safety rules. Natural Resources officials say some licence sellers have run out because of the numbers of hunters wanting to hunt in Zone 2A.

Enforcement officer Terry Beck says they have already had complaints about hunters too close to houses.

He says officers investigated three complaints on Saturday and, of those, three people have been charged.

Under the regulations, no one is allowed to fire a rifle within 402 metres of a home or within 804 metres of a school.

[huntwisely]

yep - that why the game laws are a bunch of band-aid responses. People repeatedly do stupid things and they make a law stating that such and such is illegal trying to curb the activity.

If some people weren't so greedy, lazy, thoughtless or unethical, we wouldn't have many of the laws we do now. Of course different folks have different ideas of what is greedy, lazy, thoughtless or unethical so the law provides a safe guideline as to what is acceptable or not, usually erring on the side of caution. - Usually ......

[huntwisely]

Some people show total disregard for the law - ....... Fome the Chronicle Herald today

Banned hunter facing new charges


Thu. Nov 20 - 4:47 AM
AMHERST — A Joggins man banned from hunting or possessing any meat from the deer family for 20 years is one of three men facing charges of illegally hunting at night.

Jamie Dale Brown, 33, along with John Reid Junior, 32, and Stephen Hiram Carmichael, 20, also both of Joggins, face charges of hunting with the assistance of a light; trying to lure wildlife with a light; handling firearms without due care and attention; and hunting during hours when hunting is not permitted.

The three men were charged Oct. 9 after Natural Resources Department officers stopped a vehicle driving down a paved road in the Minudie area with a rifle and light pointing out of the window.

Mr. Brown also faces a charge of hunting while suspended. The suspension was handed out in 2006 when he was found guilty of three counts of possessing carcasses of an endangered species — a female mainland moose and her two calves.

The charges that led to the suspension were laid in 2004 after Mr. Brown and two other Joggins-area men were caught with the moose meat near Moose River by conservation officers.

They were the first people charged under Nova Scotia’s then-new Endangered Species Act.

The three men facing the current charges were arraigned in provincial court Monday and were ordered to reappear in court Dec. 8 to enter pleas.

[huntwisely]

From today's Chronicle herald


It’s no party when animals, vehicles collide
Deer involved in 25% of Valley crashes in November
By IAN FAIRCLOUGH Valley Bureau
Mon. Nov 24 - 5:49 AM
Hunters in the Annapolis Valley having trouble bagging a deer this season might consider trading in their rifles for a car.

For the first three weeks of November, RCMP statistics show that one-quarter of all reportable Valley traffic accidents — those resulting in injuries or significant vehicle damage — involved deer.

Accidents involving deer and other animals account for 30 per cent of all reported accidents.

Sgt. Rich Walkinshaw of the Valley RCMP’s traffic section said that number could be higher.

Sgt. Walkinshaw said there are likely incidents involving animals that don’t get reported, such as deer that are hit by transport trucks, deer that damage vehicles that are older and not worth repairing, and deer that are clipped and run off but are mortally wounded with little damage to the vehicle.

Most of the reported collisions with deer occurred in Annapolis County, where 12 of 30 involved the animal.

There was also one collision with a bear. And a Honda Civic received an estimated $2,500 in damage after hitting two raccoons on Highway 101.

In Hants County, six deer and a horse were among the 27 crashes reported, and five deer were among the 37 reported in Kings County.

Kings County also had a raccoon collision that caused serious damage to a Mazda 3. Sgt. Walkinshaw said collisions with deer, bear and other large animals can result in serious injury.

"I think people need to anticipate that deer will be on the move at this time of the year. Be aware that they are on the road and they can come out of the ditches quickly."

He said swerving suddenly to avoid animals can send a vehicle into the path of oncoming traffic or cause it to go out of control and off the road.

Tony Nette, a wildlife resources manager with the Natural Resources Department in Kentville, said the number of deer in the province is up this year and so is the number of calls his department gets to pick up dead animals on the side of the road.

Mr. Nette said there are a lot of animals in the Valley, but the hunting is not good because of the high population density and laws that prohibit hunting within a set distance from homes and roadways.

He said productive farm land draws animals to populated regions.

Mr. Nette said motorists who see a deer on or near the road need to slow down.

"There’s usually more than one when they’re crossing, and the last ones to cross are more anxious and less cautious," he said.

Mr. Nette said collisions kill about 2,000 deer in Nova Scotia every year and 50 to 60 bears.

Hunters killed 10,000 deer in the province in 2008.

( [e-mail])

[POINTY STICKS]

heres the difference between a rural paper and an Urban paper

same story same day Truro Daily News

REGIONAL NEWS Post a comment |



Last updated at 8:19 AM on 24/11/08

Deer collisions with cars on the rise in Annapolis Valley
THE CANADIAN PRESS

KENTVILLE, N.S. — Drivers in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley are having to keep an extra eye out this fall for deer.
For the first three weeks of November, RCMP statistics show that one-quarter of all reportable traffic accidents in the valley — those resulting in injuries or significant vehicle damage — involved the fast-moving animals.
Accidents involving deer and other animals account for 30 per cent of all reported accidents.
Sgt. Rich Walkinshaw of the Valley RCMP’s traffic section said that number could be higher.
Walkinshaw said there are likely incidents involving animals that don’t get reported, such as deer that are hit by transport trucks.
Most of the reported collisions with deer occurred in Annapolis County, where 12 of 30 involved the animal.
There was also one collision with a bear. And a Honda Civic received an estimated $2,500 in damage after hitting two raccoons on Highway 101.
“I think people need to anticipate that deer will be on the move at this time of the year. Be aware that they are on the road and they can come out of the ditches quickly,” said the police officer.
He said swerving suddenly to avoid animals can send a vehicle into the path of oncoming traffic or cause it to go out of control and off the road.
Tony Nette, a wildlife resources manager with the Natural Resources Department in Kentville, said the number of deer in the province is up this year and so is the number of calls his department gets to pick up dead animals on the side of the road.

[POINTY STICKS]

LOCAL NEWS Post a comment |



Last updated at 11:42 PM on 26/11/08

Roadkill statistics soar
The Truro Daily News

By Harry Sullivan
TRURO DAILY NEWS
BIBLE HILL – A growing population of “urbanized” deer are resulting in increasing numbers of roadkill, an official with the Department of Natural Resources says.
“We’ve had them in the middle of the afternoon here in the forestry yard,” said forest technician Jim McNaughton.
As of Tuesday, the department had recorded 256 road-killed deer in Colchester County since Jan. 1.
Last year saw a total of 230 deer killed by vehicles compared to 200 in 2006.
“It’s an urban population of deer we’ve got and not a whole lot scares them anymore,” he said, of the fact that deer are becoming more accustomed to feeding near areas populated by humans.
In using the term urban, McNaughton was including Truro and other smaller outlying communities such as Brookfield, Debert, Bible Hill and Greenfield.
While there are some people who feed the deer they see hanging around their backyards, McNaughton said there is enough natural, easily accessible food supply through shrubbery and other growth that he doubts the feeding has much impact.
“They’re just here. They’ve got no fear of people, they’re content. There’s not a lot you can do about it,” he said. “And, yes, I know people feed them but if they stopped would it help? Probably not, they would just get into the gardens.”
NDP MLA Charlie Parker of Pictou, who is also the party’s natural resources critic, believes that something can be done.
In the legislature this week he called on Natural Resources Minister David Morse to initiate an awareness program, such as Manitoba does, to remind motorists of the danger of deer on the roads and what motorists can do to help prevent a collision.
“In Lunenburg, Colchester, Cumberland, Pictou and parts of Halifax County it seems that if someone hasn’t hit a deer with a vehicle, they know someone who has,” Parker said. “The number of deer involved in collisions on Nova Scotia roads has grown substantially. In the last eight years there were nearly 15,000 collisions. These are all situations that can lead to serious injury or worse, however, the minister of Natural Resources chief response is to increase the deer bag limit.”
Parker said the Manitoba government website provides information to motorists that warn them to be vigilant during dawn and dusk when deer like to feed. It also warns that deer travel together so if one crosses, others are right behind and instructs drivers to place their lights on low beam if they spot a deer.
Parker also provided figures that show nearly 4,000 deer, 130 bears and 54 moose were struck by vehicles in Nova Scotia during the past two years.
“The sheer number of collisions with deer and the extensive damage caused by collisions with deer and larger animals should have prompted the Minister of Natural Resources to act sooner,” Parker said. “Instead of relying on yellow signs and increased bag limits, the minister should have instigated awareness campaigns during July and November to remind people of the dangers and to provide defensive driving advice.

27/11/0

[huntwisely]

From Today's Truro Daily News :


Hunters with spare venison encouraged to share the wealth
The Truro Daily News

TRURO – Triumphant deer hunters who want to share their success should remember the hungry, an official with Feed Nova Scotia says.
“We’re trying to get the word out to as many hunters as possible that we are here, we are willing to accept it and able to accept it,” the agency’s executive director, Dianne Swinemar, said of venison meat donations intended for food bank recipients.
Feed Nova Scotia is an agency that works with community food pantries to help feed the hungry. Historically, meat products are not commonly found in food bank donations but because of their high protein content, it is especially important to be included in a family’s diet.
“This is one more avenue that we can go to try and get that (protein) in their homes, if they like it,” Swinemar said.
Venison is a good source of protein and while hunters for many years had wanted to donate some of their game, health and safety and game regulations prevented them from doing so.
In recent years, however, changes were made to enable hunters to do so by involving approved butcher shops and using special bags that enable authorities to verify the meat has been legally obtained and distributed.
“I know for a number of years hunters used to say, ‘why can’t I give it to you,’” Swinemar said. “Well, now they can and... hopefully they will.”
Hunters take the meat to participating butchers who process it into stew meat or venison burger. Feed Nova Scotia then picks up the meat and distributes it in pound or one and a half pound packages.
In Colchester County there are two locations - both in the Tatamagouche area - where meat can be donated: Huston’s Butcher Shop and Sunny Acres Farm and Meat Shop.
So far across the province, a total of 431 kilograms (948 lbs.) has been donated to the program. Of that, 148 kilograms (325.6 lbs.) was donated in Tatamagouche; 100 kgs (220 lbs.) in New Glasgow; 123 kgs. (270 lbs.) in Dartmouth and 60 kgs. (132 lbs.) in Windsor.
“As you can imagine, we have 35,000 to 40,000 people coming through the world of food banks (in Nova Scotia) in a month, so it (deer meat) is not available to everyone,” Swinemar said.

[huntwisely]

TIANS adds support to the protection of Chignecto Sanctuary

As there are pics, I am adding a link


thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1092947.html

[huntwisely]

From Friday's Globe and Mail

END OF BAN

N.B. hunters out on Sundays
New rules leave Nova Scotia, PEI and Saskatchewan as only provinces with prohibition
OLIVER MOORE

November 28, 2008

After 120 years, law-abiding people in New Brunswick went out hunting on Sundays this month.

The decision earlier this year to allow deer hunting on the three Sundays between Oct. 28 and Nov. 17 strikes "a good balance" between the desires of hunters and those who want the woods to themselves, said Wally Stiles, the province's Natural Resources Minister.

The long-standing ban on Sunday hunting contained in a law passed in 1888 had more to do with class than religion.

"Working people would only be off Sunday, so that's the only day they could hunt," Mr. Stiles said of his examination of the 1888 law, which has been repealed. "The aristocrats decided, 'Gee whiz, they're taking too many animals and we have to cut back on them.' "

New Brunswick's decision leaves only three provinces that still ban Sunday hunting. The Nova Scotia government has rebuffed calls by the province's hunting and fishing association to lift the ban, and the issue has gained even less political traction in Prince Edward Island. It is being discussed in Saskatchewan.

Most provinces adapted their rules gradually over the past half-century. In some cases, change came slowly. Sunday hunting in Alberta started in 1969, more than 40 years after lobbying began.

The debate everywhere has been about how to balance the needs of hunters with those of hikers and others. The shifts have generally been controversial, and even some hunters opposed them, saying the animals need a day of respite.

Doug Losier, a hunter who lives north of Saint John, said allowing limited Sunday hunting was a compromise that probably pleases most people in New Brunswick. He said he would not want it expanded, out of respect for non-hunters who want to have some time in the woods.

"I think a lot of people have a bad feeling about hunters," he said. "I knew a lot of non-hunters who were fearful."

Tony Nette, manager of wildlife resources with Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources, said he appreciates both sides of the debate. He said anecdotal evidence suggests non-hunters prefer to go into the woods on days when they won't encounter hunters.

"Every other province, other than Prince Edward Island, has vast wilderness areas," he said. "Nova Scotia is very highly populated, by comparison. We just don't have the wilderness areas."

Tony Rodgers, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters, countered with an offer to trade days: "You want a day? We'll give you Wednesday and we'll take Sunday."

He said he thinks it is "just a matter of time" before Sunday hunting is allowed in his province, noting that his organization started to raise the issue in earnest around the time Nova Scotia decided to allow Sunday shopping in 2006.

Moncton lawyer Troy Sweet said none of the remaining restrictions on Sunday hunting would likely stand up if challenged in court. "You can go to the liquor store on Sunday but you can't hunt," he said. "It doesn't make sense."

He said hunting is an important economic driver in some rural areas, and that resort owners and guides may lose business from guests who pay substantial sums and then must put down their firearms during part of their visit.

But Mr. Rodgers said the federation has no plans to bring a legal challenge. Sunday hunting is one of many topics his association has on its plate, he said, and going to court could sour its relationship with the government.

Mr. Nette agreed that forcing the issue could lead to a backlash against hunters.

[huntwisely]

From today's Chronicle Herald :

Jail time for reoffending deer jacker

By TOM McCOAG Amherst Bureau
Tue. Dec 9 - 5:27 AM
AMHERST — A Joggins man who was banned from hunting for 20 years two years ago is going to jail for 90 days for jacking deer.

The sentence was handed down in provincial court Monday after Jamie Brown, 33, pleaded guilty to the charge. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of hunting while disqualified, for which he received a concurrent 90-day sentence.

In addition, Mr. Brown was ordered to forfeit to the Crown a rifle, his 1997 Honda vehicle and all the lights and tools, like hunting knives, used in committing the offences. He was also banned from hunting for an additional five years.

Mr. Brown gained notoriety in 2006 when he and two others became the first people in the province convicted of violating Nova Scotia’s Endangered Species Act for killing a female mainland moose and her two calves. For that crime, he was banned from hunting for 20 years, fined $2,000 and given a 12-month conditional sentence. For violating that sentence, he spent 60 days in jail.

The current charges stem from an incident that happened on Oct. 9. Department of Natural Resources officers were patrolling in the Minudie area of Cumberland County at about 9:30 p.m. when they spotted a bright light shining from a car into clearcuts along the side of the road, Crown attorney Bruce Baxter told the court. Officers also saw a rifle poking out of a window on the driver’s side.

When officers pulled the vehicle over, they found four people in it. Mr. Brown was the driver and its owner. They did not find any deer meat, but did find a large spotlight on the hood of the car that had been hardwired to a battery, a second spotlight inside the car and two hunting knives. A .308-calibre rifle, belonging to Mr. Brown, was found in the ditch about 35 metres from where the car was pulled over.

In asking for the 90-day custodial sentence, Mr. Baxter said Mr. Brown had a previous conviction for violating the Wildlife Act in 1997 and a firearms conviction, also in 1997, in addition to the conviction under the Endangered Species Act.

Judge Carole Beaton found those to be aggravating factors.

"Mr. Brown, it’s obvious you are not getting the message. Two years after your latest conviction, you were back at it," she said. "Hopefully, Mr. Brown, you will now get the message. And hopefully, the public will get the same message: you can not engage in this kind of behaviour and not expect serious consequences."

She allowed Mr. Brown to serve the sentence on weekends because he is the sole caregiver for his two young children, but warned him that any future hunting violation would result in him being sent directly to jail.

The passenger in the front seat of the car that night was John Junior Reid, 32. During a separate court appearance Monday, he pleaded guilty to a single charge of jacking deer. He was fined $2,875 and banned from hunting for five years. He was given 12 months to pay the fine.

A third man, Stephen Hiram Carmichael, didn’t enter a plea to a charge of jacking deer. He asked for time to hire a lawyer and was ordered to reappear in provincial court on Jan. 12 to answer to the charge.

The fourth occupant of the car, a youth whose identity was not released, was not charged.