Whistler bowhunting ban sought

Photo by Sylvia Dolson/Special to The Question

A man shoots photographs of a bear along the Callaghan Road earlier this summer. A Whistlerite says the fact that many bears are habitutated to humans is just one reason to ban or restrict bowhunting of bears and other wildlife in close proximity to public roads in the Whistler area.

A recent incident in which a black bear was legally killed by a hunter using a crossbow within Whistler’s municipal boundaries has given rise to a local group whose aim is to see bowhunting outlawed in town — and if the lead organizer has her way, beyond that.

Sylvia Dolson, who has drafted a letter to Whistler’s mayor and council on behalf of the Whistler Residents Opposed to Urban Hunting, on Tuesday (July 27) said many who responded to her initial email recently were shocked to learn that bow hunting is legal within municipal boundaries as long as it’s done during hunting season and not within 100 metres of a dwelling, playground, school or other building.

Between April 1 and June 15, and Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, in most forested areas in Whistler — including near recreational trails and in places such as Lost Lake Park — it’s legal to shoot and kill a bear, deer or other animal using a crossbow.

This is the second time in the past two years that Dolson, executive director of the Get Bear Smart Society, has come out in favour of making hunting rules more restrictive in the Sea to Sky corridor.

Last year after an incident in which a hunter was seen by a passing motorist discharging a rifle at a bear that was standing alongside Highway 99 between Whistler and Pemberton, she and a Pemberton resident called for the rules regarding hunting near a roadway to be changed. Instead of 15 metres from the centerline of a road, as the law states, the two argued that the distance should be increased to 100 metres or more.

That initiative has so far gone nowhere. “I’ve since found out that there’s a very complicated procedure that we need to follow. I have all of the forms and I haven’t had a chance to look at them yet,” Dolson said of the process of getting a provincial hunting regulation reviewed and, perhaps, changed.

Dolson also wants to see bowhunting banned along the 4.5 kilometres of the Callaghan Valley Road that’s outside municipal boundaries. While that might be more difficult, she said she thinks outlawing or at least regulating bow hunting within municipal boundaries should be a bit more straightforward.

Stressing that she’s not speaking on behalf of the Get Bear Smart Society — whose mandate doesn’t include taking a stance for or against hunting — Dolson said she’s been encouraged by the response from local lawmakers, who have so far been supportive of the idea. And that’s even before her letter has been formally sent and received by Whistler council.

Councillor Grant Lamont said while he doesn’t see it as a major concern, he’d like to outlaw or restrict the practice — but first wants to see municipal officials check to see whether they have the authority to enact such a bylaw.

“The last thing you want to see is someone getting a hunting arrow through the chest while biking on a trail,” he said.

“I’d like to see them gone, but I don’t know whether it’s within our jurisdiction to do that.”

In her draft letter to council, posted on Facebook, Dolson wrote that bow hunting in parks and along recreational trails puts the public at risk.

“This presents a huge safety risk for residents and visitors (and) their dogs, not to mention the animals,” she wrote. “The wounding rate for animals shot with bows is significantly higher than those shot with firearms and they often suffer a slow and agonizing death.”

Dolson told The Question that she has received numerous reports of bow hunters legally shooting at bears from near the Callaghan Road and near Highway 99. She said she doesn’t think that’s either sporting or humane.

“I drove the Callaghan a few times as well as Highway 99, and realized that there were a lot of people bear viewing in this area, and that the bears were very habituated to people,” Dolson said, adding that the fact that bear-attracting sweet clover was hydroseeded along the highway during the recent road upgrade only adds to that problem.

“It just didn’t seem right to me that people should be allowed to hunt bears in this situation, when they’re so habituated. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel,” she said.

Dolson said she’s not opposed to subsistence hunting where it’s safe to do so, but opposes all hunting for sport. She said she would be satisfied with something less than an outright ban on bowhunting in Whistler.

“I’m asking them to make it unlawful to bow hunt within the RMOW. That would be my goal,” she said. “If there are those who don’t support that, I’ll only ask that it be banned within recreational areas— anywhere where human safety is at risk, maybe in a park or close to a trail.”

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