Posted on 01/05/2021 7:14:06 PM PST by nickcarraway
Stephane Girard said his outbuilding was hit with buckshot, a second near-miss at his home
Stephane Girard remembers the day his wife heard gun shots close to their Elgin home. She asked if he had fired a gun: he hadn't.
The avid hunter didn't think much of it until he went to paint his well house two days later and saw five buckshot holes in the siding.
Girard said this isn't his first close call.
"There was a near miss two years ago," he said.
After hearing a gun fire, shots landed within about 40 metres of where he was working.
"I understand that people come out here to play, but I mean, why should I have to pay with my life?"
In both cases he says the shots were fired within about 100 metres of his home.
According to provincial regulations on the government website: it is illegal to discharge any rifle or shotgun within 200 metres of a dwelling, school, playground, athletic field, solid waste disposal site or place of business.
After two close calls, Stephane Girard says more conservation officers need to be in the woods to enforce hunting regulations. 1:30 He said he reported both incidents to the RCMP, but neither complaint resulted in any charges. Nor did it lead to an increase in patrols, according to Girard, something he said is lacking.
Girard would also like to see a program that supplies people with signs warning hunters of homes nearby.
In the meantime, he and his family — including the dog — wear hunter orange when they venture out into the woods.
According to Nathalie Michaud, the president of the New Brunswick Wildlife Federation, she's hearing more complaints than usual.
"Since COVID started, we did have a lot of calls and messages and emails and so on and so forth from our members across the province [saying] that poaching was on the way up, not just in the woods, but also in the rivers for salmon," said Michaud.
She attributes part of the problem to an increase of provincial employees stationed at borders to enforce pandemic restrictions.
"We need to get our conservation officers off the borders and back in the woods," she said.
While hunting licensing and regulations fall under the Department of Natural Resources and Development, enforcement falls to the Department of Public Safety.
Coreen Enos, a communication director with Public Safety said that since Sept. 1 there have been 42 complaints, "associated to the illegal discharge of a firearm."
She said the department doesn't record complaints, so it's not possible to compare this to another time period.
Enos said of those complaints, 10 resulted in charges, others are being investigated.
According to Enos there are currently 56 conservation officers performing their regular duties, compared to 62 officers performing the same role in 2019.
Mike Holland, minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development and Conservative MLA for Albert said conservation officers were reassigned in September.
"During Moose season, we moved our resources back into the woods," he said.
Holland said he has been involved in issues of adequate enforcement and where people hunt since he was elected in 2018.
DNR introduced a new 'bundling package' for hunters this year that offers a 25 per cent discount on bear and varmint licences if a deer/small game licence is bought, but Holland said it's too soon to know if it had the desired effect of enticing more people to hunt.
If it does result in more hunters, Holland said that doesn't mean more enforcement issues.
"It's the old the old saying, you know, there's a couple of bad apples, but most of the barrel is good."
As a hunter himself, Girard agrees that irresponsible behaviour doesn't necessarily come with the territory.
"I'm making sure that I'm not shooting at my neighbours," and he expects others to do the same.
Poaching is way up? Go figure. They destroy an economy, but people still need to eat.
“a second near-miss at his home”
A hit is a near miss. Was it a hit or a miss?
WTF is a “metre?” Where is he? Oh, and he is an “avid hunter” is he? Citation needed. He looks like he needs to lose weight or buy a bra.
It’s in Canada, as it says in keywords.
Ah, that explains everything.
It happened in New Brunswick, borders on Maine. Only official bilingual Canadian province.
And if that’s not bad enough the Premier is Blaine Higgs (Progressive Conservative Party).
Progressive Conservative Party, lots of confusion with languages and meanings up there. Severe provincial identity issues abound.
“WTF is a “metre?” Where is he? Oh, and he is an “avid hunter” is he? Citation needed. He looks like he needs to lose weight or buy a bra.”
Where are you?
What are you doing?
What are you drinking?
Where is your mother?
Easy way to work out a metre without being accurate is
3feet to a metre.
Rough draft only, but close and simple.
Where are you? North Georgia.
What are you doing? Reading a book.
What are you drinking? Scotch. Famous Grouse, since you asked.
Where is your mother? In assisted living, about 20 minutes away. Where she thinks she is might be a more interesting question.
Anything else you need to know?
I recall a guy whose wife was in assisted living with a view of the ocean. She thought she was on a cruise.
It’s often a multiple choice question within minutes. Dementia can be difficult to notice with intelligent people. With idiots like Joe Biden, it’s pretty easy to spot.
I think Joe’s always suffered under the delusion that he’s very intelligent.
That’s what masked his obvious dementia. He’s always been amazingly stupid. No, really, I mean DUMB. Joe Biden is a dumbass. Always has been. Hunter Biden is also a dumbass. It’s pretty obvious for both of them.
I’ve heard the joke that he takes Amtrak because trains can’t get lost.
City folks take note. Country people are careful to avoid firing rounds towards any of their neighbors houses, yards or areas of frequent human activity. Rifle rounds over 40 grains are not fired into areas that the hunter cannot see (e.g., not over a hill). No trespassing.
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