By Joanne Dorr
The Haldimand Press
With the arrival of hunting season, police are getting reports of illegal hunting.
The Haldimand OPP has responded to an increase in calls related to night hunting. This increase is mainly due to the public being more familiar with this as an illegal practice, making them more likely to report it.
Most calls are coming between sunset and sunrise and originate from all over the county.
Some of the dangers of night hunting include the possibility of striking someone with or being struck by a stray or ricochet bullet. Night hunting often takes place near rural residences, and OPP Community Safety Officer Mary Gagliardi says, “We’ve had people where their house is situated next to a farmer’s field and they’ve had vehicles stopped on the road and shoot from the vehicle into the field.”
Gagliardi pointed to a second illegal hunt in this example, which is hunting from a vehicle.
If you suspect night hunting activities on or near your property, or if you suspect someone is hunting from their vehicle, call 911 immediately and do not approach the suspects.
Another illegal hunting activity is poaching. Longer winter nights provide these suspects with a wider time frame and easier hunting, since the trees do not have any foliage and the snow provides a bright background that makes it easier to see animals like deer.
Again using their vehicles, suspects sometimes drive with the lights off and then turn on a spotlight when they see a deer, blinding and stunning the animal temporarily for an easy kill. Not only dangerous and illegal, but this practice is also unfair for the deer – it’s unsportsmanlike and gives true hunters who respect the law a bad reputation all around.
