News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes 

New restrictions for mule deer and moose hunting have hunters in an uproar, according to Jacques Drisdelle, Regional President Cariboo Chilcotin BC Wildlife Federation. During September, hunters were restricted to four-point bucks or larger, can hunt any buck in October, but can only hunt four-point or larger bucks for three weeks in November. For ten days in November, there is no deer hunting at all, and the bag limit has also been reduced from two bucks to one. 

“I’ve had lots of feedback from people and talked to a lot of hunters this weekend and they are very upset,” he said. “They feel that everything is screwed up, and they have a right to be angry---what has happened is very significant.” 

(Photo: Jacques Drisdelle, Regional President Cariboo Chilcotin BC Wildlife Federation)

The hunting restrictions were announced this spring, and in late August a group of eight retired senior wildlife biologists with extensive BC wildlife management experience wrote a letter to Minister of Environment Barry Penner.   (Read the letter by clicking here.)

The letter, according to Jacques Drisdelle, created a firestorm in Victoria. “Basically, they said that the deer and moose management in this area is screwed up and they called on Minister Penner to implement an independent review of management strategies,” Jacques said. 

 Minister Barry Penner answered the letter with one of his own in August, and Jacques said that there is a meeting scheduled with the Minister in Victoria on October 20. (Read Minister Penner's letter of responce by clicking here.)

He explained that one of the co-signers of the letter to Minister Penner, Ray Demarchi (retired BC Chief of Wildlife) created two reports based on the governments’ own numbers. “Everywhere else in the province, the management of Mule Deer and moose are very different than they are here---hunter harvest and hunter numbers are increasing everywhere else, but are decreasing here.” 

 He said that they plan to ask Minister Penner to order an independent review of the practices in this region. “We don’t feel that we are being heard, or that our concerns are being addressed. We’d like some straight answers,” he continued. “We’ve got Victoria telling us that these regulation changes were recommended by our own Regional Wildlife Manager, and we’ve got our region saying that the changes were recommended by Victoria.”   

In a recent discussion between local and regional Ministry of Wildlife staff members, according to Jacques, it was stated that this region is too centrally located, and that if the hunting restrictions are liberalized, it would attract too many hunters from BC’s lower mainland, and that they would shoot everything off. 

“First of all, why is Region Three, just to the south of us and closer to the lower mainland, not experiencing that?” he said. “And on the other hand, Region Seven to the north of us and even farther from Vancouver, has hunters in huge numbers: local hunters don’t want to go in there because it’s jam- packed with out-of-region hunters.” 

He said that restricting hunting in this region is robbing us of revenue. “People may stop here for gas, but they don’t stop here for motels, restaurants, propane or shopping. These restrictions are stopping our area from being a destination. 

“The Ministry has a policy to recruit and retain hunters and increases their numbers, but they’re ignoring that policy,” he explained. “In this region, it’s as if their number one clients are First Nations hunters and second are the guide outfitters, and hunting has been made very difficult for resident hunters, who are their last priority,” he said.  

He explained that at a recent meeting with the Cattlemen’s Association he was asked for his opinion about the enormous costs to ranchers caused by wildlife, and why more deer couldn’t be shot. “I told them that we’ve got too many deer because of the practices of our local wildlife branch,” he said. “I said that if we had staff here who knew what they were doing and behaved accordingly, we wouldn’t have these problems.” 

Resident hunters who hunt for food are being forced to become trophy hunters, according to Jacques. “We’re forced to hunt four-point bucks----someone explain to me the validity of hunting a four-pointer in September. That’s just ludicrous. You go ask hunters, ‘Are you looking for a big, huge buck to hang on your wall, or are you hunting for meat?’ Nine out of ten will tell you that it’s about harvesting meat and about the enjoyment of the hunt,” he said. “They don’t want the head for the wall: they want the meat.”

  He said that a lot of disrepute is brought on hunting by the guide outfitters. “Hunting is not about the shooting and it’s not about the killing,” he said. “It’s pursuing and harvesting something and having the meat to support you and your family for the rest of the year.”

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