Comox Valley resident wants larger buffer from hunters

A Comox Valley man is calling for changes to the provincial Wildlife Act to increase the distance people must be from homes before they can discharge firearms. Currently, the minimum distance is 100 metres, but Ron Sitter would like to see that increased to 250.

“As the research goes, a shotgun shot can travel between 200 and 700 metres, which means if there is a wayward shot, it could end up damaging our property or damaging us,” says Sitter, who lives in a rural area south of Courtenay.

Sitter says hunters frequent a hay field next to his property, setting up blinds and hay bales as they target ducks. He says although the hunters are respectful and keep within the guidelines, he’s worried their bullets may go farther than intended.

“When the shotgun goes off, it’s very, very loud and it’s very disturbing," he says. "It shocks us inside of the house. It’s always in your mind: What if that shot comes through our window?”

Sitter began writing to his Member of Parliament and local MLA back in December 2020, but the responses he received indicate his representatives don’t believe it is an issue. He dropped his campaign to make changes, believing it was a lost battle, until he heard about Simon Tozer. 

Tozer was 52 in February when he was riding a dirt bike near Ladysmith and was killed by a stray bullet fired not by a hunter, but rather someone target practicing.

“They concluded that the bullet came from a group of people that were shooting targets into trees with no backstop,” Tozer’s sister Sarah Bonar told CTV News earlier this month.

Since airing her frustrations about her brother’s death through the media, Bonar says others have also come forward.

“We’re hearing a lot of reports of people that have had near misses,” she said.

WILDLIFE ACT

In March 2021, Sitter received a letter from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development about his concerns. It too said the issue didn’t warrant any changes.

The letter was authored by the executive director of the Resource Stewardship Division.

“Under the Wildlife Act, the regulation that prohibits hunting or the discharge of firearms within 100 meters of a church, school building or yard, playground, dwelling house or farm/ranch building occupied by persons or domestic animals was established in 1995. Over the past 25 years, there have been very few incidents related to firearms in the vicinity of dwellings. Based upon this low-incident record and positive safety history, there are no plans to amend the no hunting/shooting buffer distance from dwellings,” the letter reads.

The executive director of the BC Wildlife Foundation also believes the current regulations don’t require changes.

“There is legislation around knowing your target, knowing what’s around your target, so that kind of safeguards that, so changing the distance doesn’t necessarily change that outcome,” says Jesse Zeman.

As for target shooters acting inappropriately, Zeman says they should be handled by the proper authorities.

“If anyone sees someone who they think is using a firearm improperly or not safely they should be calling the conservation officer service, absolutely,” he says.

Sitter still wants a greater distance, and is hoping other members of the public with similar concerns reach out to the government for changes.

“It’s not a hard fix for the politicians if they just get serious about it, and maybe looking forward we can prevent some injuries just by changing those regulations,” Sitter says.