WILDLIFE ACT

[ARROW SLINGER]

Looks like they took one of our privelages away that BANS worked on from 1994 - 1997.

Our bows now/again have to be encased in vehicles during daylight hours.
Everywhere it said firearm they changed to weapon!

(4) (a) No person shall possess a weapon in or on a vehicle at any time unless it is encased.

Clause 8(4)(a) amended: O.I.C. 90-841, N.S. Reg. 178/90; O.I.C. 92-812, N.S. Reg. 176/92; O.I.C. 2008-458, N.S. Reg. 376/2008.


2(h)

(j) “weapon” means a firearm, a crossbow or a bow;

Clause 2(j) amended: O.I.C. 2008-458, N.S. Reg. 376/2008.

Firearm and Bow Regulations

made under Section 113 of the

Wildlife Act

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 504

O.I.C. 89-837 (July 18, 1989, effective August 1, 1989), N.S. Reg. 144/89

as amended up to O.I.C. 2008-458 (September 9, 2008), N.S. Reg. 376/2008

[/color]

[ARROW SLINGER]

And by reading this amended section, target practise in your back yard and roving stump shooting is squashed also??


Possession and transportation of a firearm or bow

8 (1) Except when a person is lawfully hunting with a weapon permitted under these regulations, no person shall take, carry or possess a weapon at any time in a wildlife habitat without a permit to transport issued by the Department unless the weapon



(a) has been purchased and is being transported to the residence of the buyer;



(b) is being transported to or from a repair shop which has been approved or licensed by the Province;



(c) is being transported to or from an organized shoot;



(d) is being transported by the owner to a new residence;



(e) is being transported directly to or from a range approved by the Province, other than a range administered by the Department where verbal permission to transport is required;



(f) is being transported to or from another province or state where that person holds or intends to buy a licence to hunt or where that person plans to shoot at a range located there; or



(g) is a shotgun being transported to or from an approved dog field trial, a designated dog training area or other area where a dog is to be trained.

Subsection 8(1) amended: O.I.C. 2008-458, N.S. Reg. 376/2008.

[POINTY STICKS]

very interesting. I thought bows used to be ok if they were uncased but made unoperatable buy either placing a lock or unstringing the bow? Thought that was always the loop hole for bows.


John you sould check into this >

[ARROW SLINGER]

That was the encased requirement after legal hours, BUT- bows could be left out on the front seat during legal daylight hours not encased! That was verified by John Momberquette.
The old wording was all "firearms" must be encased at all times, bows are classified as a weapons!
Guess thats what happens when politicians rush regulation changes through without those affected by them having a chance to review or sit in on the change process. All because the xbow issue got pushed through in a hurry no doubt!

ONE STEP FORWARD TWO STEPS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[POINTY STICKS]

so did they actually remove the other clause? this one reads the same as the old they just added the word crossbow in there I think?

[ARROW SLINGER]

No, same section of the act, just ammended/rewriten Sept. 2008 to read "all weapons"
Authorised Weapons definition now include crossbows.

First two posts are cut and paste from the new /amended wildlife act.

I have hard copies of the acts prior to amendments in Sept.
I'll get copies made for you and John if you like, but chances are the new acts are there to stay because a xbow might be able to be stuck out the window of a vehicle if you hold your mouth the right way and recline your seat

[ARROW SLINGER]

Heres how it used to read, cut out of the 2008 Hunting regulations.

5. No person shall possess a firearm in or on a vehicle at any
time unless it is encased. (This includes vehicles as defined
in the Off-Highway Vehicles Act.) Some exceptions apply to
licenced furharvesters.

Heres how it read from the wildlife act before Sept. 08:

(4) (a) No person shall possess a firearm in or on a vehicle at any time unless it is encased.

and, heres how it reads in the amended wildlife act regulations:

(4) (a) No person shall possess a weapon in or on a vehicle at any time unless it is encased.

[ARROW SLINGER]

Heres the link to access all the changes over the years as well as the current version.

www.iijcan.org/ns/laws/sta/r1989c.504/index.html#enabled

And heres the history info of BANS initiated changes:

About 1994, Nova Scotia required bow hunters to encase their bows while in or on a motorized vehicle, something bow hunters were not accustomed to, lumping bows into the same group as gun hunters once again. With some knowledgeable people regarding bow hunting now within D.N.R., this regulation was revamped some three years later and excluded bows during legal hunting hours.

In 1998 another issue was resolved, through BANS, concerning bow encasement. Bow cases, for the most part, are cumbersome and therefore it was unrealistic to head into a stand or blind before legal hours carrying an encased bow. A regulation was then passed allowing a hunter to carry a bow in game habitat, before or after legal hours, as long as it is encased or has a lock attached which renders the bow inoperable.

[archeryman57]

Thanks for the update, arrow slinger. I have to agree with you about the x-bow idea. As far as taking one step forward and two steps back, well this is only the beginning. So we gave them an inch and they want the mile. It is a sad state of affairs when we that choose to hunt with a bow get lumped in with those that want to do it the easier way. Obviously the folks in power seem to know as little as those that wanted the x-bows in the first place. We have more of a fight on our hands to try to maintain a certain level of quality in our hunting. This is only the beginning as we watch our quality of hunting become more eroded. And all for the sake of those that want things handed to them.
Please keep up the vigilance. If not for us then for our kids.

[monsterbuck]

Really to bad to see this happening . I did not know this law had changed either . Good job I seen it here . I always put a gunlock on mine but few times I have just let it lay on the seat of my vehicle. Phew .... close one .

[bobleblanc]

You need to defer to the definition of 'encased'...

"(f) “encased” means a weapon that is secured in accordance with 1 of the following:



(i) it is in a case that is properly fastened,



(ii) it is completely wrapped in a material that is securely tied around the weapon,



(iii) it is in the locked compartment of a vehicle and the contents of the compartment are not accessible to the occupant of the vehicle from inside the vehicle,



(iv) for a firearm, it is rendered inoperable by attaching a trigger lock to the firearm,



(v) for a crossbow or bow, it is rendered inoperable by disassembling the weapon or by attaching a lock to the weapon;..."

Note paragragh V...no change.

Bob

[POINTY STICKS]

I would have to agree with you Bob as that is the I understand it to be as well. I mentioned this thread to HW the other day and he has been in contact with DNR on the issue.

That being said I don't know all they talked about.

If what Bob posted is still in the Wildlife Act (and i see no reason for them to take out the legal deffinitions of "encased") it would effectively mean that other than the new regs on crossbows nothing really has changed.

It should still be legal to unstring a traditional bow and place a cam lock on a compound bow to prevent them from being easily used. Locking your bow in the trunk of your car should also be deemed as encased as stated in the sub sections.

[ARROW SLINGER]

- you guys arent getting it - Clair and Jamie did!
- the meaning of encased never changed!
- xbows were included as legal weapons - YES
- BUT , the regulation regarding encasing of firearms at all times in or on a vehicle was changed to WEAPONS.

BOWS WERE PREVIOUSLY EXCLUDED FROM THIS DURING LEGAL HUNTING HOURS DUE TO THE WORDING "FIREARMS"
- John has talked to DNR reps and they are aware of their wording error affecting BOWS and will be keeping us informed of their follow up .

PRIOR to Sept. 2008 you could drive from one end of NS to the other during legal hunting hours with your 'STRUNG' NOT-ENCASED- NOT DISABLED BOW hanging from your rear view mirror for decoration! with no legal reprocutions.

Clear like mud now?

[ARROW SLINGER]

And if your refer to the 2008 Hunting Regulations, that are only a summary of the wildlife act. It quoted the old regulation, using the firearms wording! So legally anyone transporting their bow during legal hours un-cased last fall could have been charged under the new amended wildlife act wording. Because they have the clause in there that you are responcible to refer to the wildlife act for clarification of all regulations.

How many guys take that step??

MAN I have way to much time on my hands

[POINTY STICKS]

I'm not sure you could ever carry a weapon in a car with out it being deemed "encased" Who would want to carry their bow in the front seat? Again read Bob's post, still NOT seeing this as a big deal really. If your transporting ANY hunting weapon in your car it should be made safe before doing so IMO....