City Councillor Opposes Bowhunting Within City Limits
Prince George, B.C. – Prince George City Councillor Brian Skakun says it’s time to put a stop to bowhunting within city limits.
“I’ve talked to our administration a while ago about this. It has been a concern of mine and for a number of people in the community because it is a safety issue even though it’s legal.”
He says an example of the dangers associated with bowhunting is circulating on Facebook today.
“One of my neighbours (in the Westgate area) reported a mule deer running around with an arrow in its shoulder,” says Skakun.
“My understanding is the RCMP has been called (250News is waiting for confirmation on this as well) and they’re looking into it but I doubt it got shot outside city limits and ran into town. But there’s a deer out there that’s going to have to be put down and that’s a concern too.”
He says the worst case scenario would involve a human.
“If there was an errant arrow and it did hurt someone the potential is there. It may be small but there is the potential,” says Skakun.
“We have parks, we have the Greenway trails around the university and at the very, very least for safety, there should be certain areas in town near these parks and trails where it’s not allowed.”
He says a bylaw is in place that prevents people from discharging a firearm in city limits and would like to see a similar law for bowhunting.
“It takes 10 minutes to drive outside town so go outside city limits and do it there like the people with rifles are.”
Comments
What about those of us in the nechako, cranbrook, hart or airport area, you going to put a blanket ban because one person didn’t do a complete kill. Shows how college heights rules PG again.
Don’t worry Onyxpartitian, it should be banned for you folks as well. Equality is good.
That sounds more like a parenting issue. My guess it was a kid running around with a low powered bow. Who thought it was fun to take a shot at a deer.
Let’s not blame all hunters and hunting for the actions of one misguided kid.
I knew from the headline of this story that the councillor was going to be Brian Skakun. He loves the easy public interest topics such as this. It doesn’t take much effort when you appear to be on the side of right.
Brian thinks we forget him… now he is trying to get his name in the news in a different way????
Brian should stick to fixing potholes.
Brian… using facebook to make your point..Even kids in elementary school know facebook is not a reliable source for anything… please tell me you are joking…
Did you have to spew something just to grandstand again and be in the media.. was nice while you stayed quiet but I knew it wouldn’t last.. alas you are making yourself look like a fool… again.
Stitch, thank you for your comment which is in response to my earlier comment – which was removed! Probably too funny, or not funny enough. Can’t see how it was offensive to anyone or inappropriate.
Bowhunting is now an issue? Did you know more people will die from vending machines falling on them, than Bowhunting accidents and Shark attacks, this year?
Dave, seriously? Guessing? All bow hunters are sharpshooters and this, in your mind, is attributed to a kid? I suggest this was a dumbutt bowhunter who should lose his privilege to hunt for a few years.
Must be nice to get elected and push your own agenda Skakun. You’ve been gunning for this for awhile now. Pg has one of the largest city limits and bow hunting is allowed in much more populated areas than here.(lower mainland). Now your pushing safety? For real?? How safe is it to have a mountain bike coming down the walking trails around blind corners? Why don’t you go after them next! Why don’t you go and spend a whole bunch more tax payer money and rename another park. I CAN’T wait till the next election!!!
More of a chance you will get run over by some idiot driving a car than being hit with an arrow. Better ban driving in city limits.
“I suggest this was a dumbutt bowhunter who should lose his privilege to hunt for a few years”
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Why?
A hunter would use a broadhead on their arrow. If the deer is caught it will be interesting to see if it had a broadhead or a field point on it.
I agree with Brian. We don’t need any kind of hunters wandering around in City limits!
Dumb, because he did not kill his animal. Have you hunted, have you wounded an animal and not hunted it down and put it out of its misery, and harvested it?
If I don’t have a kill shot I let the animal go. Most hunters will agree.
We have one of the largest city limits in BC, if not Canada. There are FSR’s, large amounts if crown land etc.. within city limits.
There are a lot of places to hunt legally and ethically within the city. I think there is a misconception that people are running around with bows shooting at anything in populated areas.
The provincial hunting regs specify you cannot hunt near schools, private dwellings, parks etc.. If a hunter is following the rules there should be no issues!
This should not be an issue
I think Skakum should do his homework….If I am not wrong there are still areas that allow the discharging of 22’s in city limits. They have been on the books since around the time of Mercier if I am not mistaken….
This is my opinion is a completely agenda driven issue led my a man with personal interests in mind and nothing do with honest concern for conservation or safety. Having a third party story (has it even been proved true) as the one evidence for closing bow hunting seems like again like someone making a claim to push his agenda. If this was a conservation issue it should left to C.O and the Spruce City Wildlife Foundation to come up with an educated decision on bow hunting in city limits. If it was an honest safety concern I personally would not at all feel concerned with meeting a bow hunter within city limits, although I would feel a huge safety concern meeting a said city counsillor who enjoys wildlife photography and walking up to people holding Bowie knives dressed in full camo. If there is safety concern a city councillor should be concerned about how about people doing 70kms an hour through a school zone on domano?
Grizzly2, you are guessing by assuming it was a hunter.
I have never had one of my arrows not pass thru a deer. So to have one sticking out of a deer to me would say it was an under powered bow. You know like something a kid would use.
There are Cities and then there are cities. Prince George is an anomaly in the sense that its comprised of 122.88 sq miles, with a population of 71,273. So we have 586 people per square mile.
Surrey BC on the other hand is comprised of 122.17 sq miles, with a population of 508,404. They have 4200 people per sq mile.
So in essence one is mostly city (Surrey) while the other is mostly bush (Prince George BC)
It would maybe make sense to restrict the use of a bow and arrow in Surrey, however not so much in Prince George, which is comprised of a lot of wilderness.
Surely Councilor Skakun is aware of the make up of this City, and can see that we have a land mass way beyond what is needed for this City.
Perhaps if he were to restore the City limits to what they were before amalgamation he would have a case.
Anti hunter…spewing heresay stories to justify his anti hunter agenda.
Posted on Saturday, November 14, 2015 @ 4:16 PM by Grizzly2 with a score of 7
Dumb, because he did not kill his animal. Have you hunted, have you wounded an animal and not hunted it down and put it out of its misery, and harvested it?
If I don’t have a kill shot I let the animal go. Most hunters will agree.
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Griz, it isn’t uncommon for deer and other big game to run away after being arrowed or shot with a firearm and many are never recovered. Been there done that, along with thousands of other hunters.
So why should the hunter, (if that’s what it was) lose his privilege to hunt for a few years?
Show us pictures or it never happened!! What a crock of anti hunter propoganda!!
Come on Brian. Now were making bilaws based on heresay evidence/delusions. Lets do a better job enforcing what we already have to work with. Hunting with a rifle 1km outside of city limits can be as dangerous in city limits as a bow in city limits. The thing that makes a weapon safe is the person discharging it be it a bow or rifle. We have exisisting laws to ensure safe hunting, if there is a real problem the city should ask the apropriate level of government to do somthing about it. Brian your barking up the wrong tree with this one. You should know by now this is not a fight to piss away city resources on.
Obviously Mr. Skakun is on his own personal agenda on this one. Pulling out the safety card? Please. I would like to see some statistics on this one. I wonder how many people have been injured by hitting a moose in city limits? If its safety that Skakun is concerned about then he better outlaw mountain biking. Spend some time in the ER and you will see how many people come in because of biking. Should we ban that too? Is kids tobogganing next on the list? Ridiculous. Just another prime example of someone with power thinking of themselves and not what the public wants. I hurt my back hitting that pot hole on 22nd merging onto central by BC Hydro. You know the one that’s been there for the last 8 years. I bet tax paying citizens would like that fixed! Safety First!
From the College of St. Scholastica’s web page in Duluth, Mn. come these thoughts about legal bow hunting within City Limits:
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It is fall and the most dangerous and mind numbing sport has come into season; deer hunting.
Bow hunting has become more and more popular where you can hunt within the city. The inner-city bow hunt has been going on since 2004 in Duluth and has been immensely successful.
After 9 seasons 3,000 deer have been harvested.
You might wonder why citizens would be allowed to shoot deer within city limits, due to the danger that exists. Due to the abundance of complaints the city was getting since 2004 and before, the city saw it as a necessary option to allow trained hunters to help decompress the city of their over population of deer.
All hunters who wish to participate must have certified bow hunting training, as well as apply for a $25 permit. Duluth has a ton of forest area. As long as you shoot your bow 500 feet from a house/building and not in said direction, you are perfectly legal.
Deer in the city tend to be less skittish, as they have been around people for a good part of their lives. However, it’s not as if you’re shooting at a manikin.
“They’re definitely not as dumb as people think they are. They know their being hunted,” said Lockett, president of Arrowhead Bowhunters Alliance. “They’re still deer and know that there are threats out there. They have real keen noses and ears, so hunters have to abide by everything or they just won’t get the deer.”
If you have a bow and would like to tally up a couple more deer to show off to friends and family, then you will need to fill out the application.
Paraphrased from css.edu/about/the-cable/the-cable-news/bow-hunting-legal-within-city-limits.html
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From the City of PG Trails Survey Summary it states that Cranbrook Hill/Ginter user groups issues surrounding trail etiquette and bow hunting would require management in order to provide a safe environment for all affected uses.
To state that this is a personal issue to Skakun and to blame him for raising the issue 11 years after it was raised by user groups and recorded in a City document rather than blaming all City Councils since then for sitting on their behinds on the issue raised is uncalled for. The man is doing his job. Everyone else has ignored the issue for 11 years. A deer with an arrow logged in it has brought it to the forefront. Simple as that!!!!
BTW, I can find no info on bow hunting regulations in the City of PG on the City web site.
Are deer a pest as they may be in Deluth? Do hunters need lessons? A permit? Do Provincial Conservation Officers have the primary authority?
I would like to see a serious discussion. Hopefully we will get it at Council. It is about time.
Some may have noticed the following phrase from the Duluth site:
“Deer in the city tend to be less skittish, as they have been around people for a good part of their lives.”
Unrestricted hunting in a city can be viewed as a “canned hunt”. It can be viewed as hunting in Jasper Park. I have pictures of elk bedding down in a Cannon Beach city park after coming down from Ecola State Park for the night. That would be easy picking for bow hunters.
This issue is not about Skakun, it is about ethical hunting practices as well as safe hunting practices. Those who blame him are likely interested in diffusing the real concerns about this issue.
Minus real evidence that unsafe and unethical hunters are causing problems in the city, this is a case of boy cried wolf. With evidence there is room for debate.
Brian… ok, you got your name in the media… time to go away for awhile again.. please
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