Residents spot deer hunters

Men carrying a doe tied to pole

Danielle Wong
The Hamilton Spectator

(Nov 16, 2009)

Several residents who live near Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area say they witnessed men dressed in camouflage hunting deer with bows early last week.

Roddie Perks and her two dogs were taking their daily stroll on the Bruce Trail early last Monday when she saw three men, all carrying bows.

"(The bows) were two feet long, very compact, not like a long bow. I didn't see any arrows," said Perks, 62.

About an hour later, another resident walking his dog in the area saw a man dressed in camouflage hiding behind a tree, armed with an arrow in a bow.

"I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Sir, we're allowed to be out here,'" said the 36-year-old man, who did not want give his name out of fear for his safety.

The hunter, who identified himself as being from Six Nations, complained the resident had scared away the doe he and two others were hunting. The local said the young hunter was holding what looked like a compound bow.

Later, he said, he saw the hunter and two other men walking out of the conservation area with a doe tied to a pole.

Half an hour later, a couple driving onto Highway 403 from the Lincoln Alexander Parkway saw three men walking westbound on the 403 overpass, carrying a deer with its hooves tied to a pole.

"Two of them were carrying a deer ... on a big, thick stick. They had it hanging on its legs. (The deer) was not gutted or anything," said Christine, who did not want to give her last name because she was afraid for her safety.

One man carried a bow, said Christine, who lives two minutes from Iroquoia Heights.

The residents said they called the Hamilton Conservation Authority to report the incidents.

The HCA indefinitely closed the conservation area east of Highway 403 and north of the Lincoln Alexander Parkway last Monday after a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer confronted a man believed to be involved with illegal deer hunting.

Brian Skye, who described himself as an "environmental monitor" for the Haudenosaunee-Six Nations Confederacy, said he and five other Six Nations men were conducting an "environmental assessment" that day and were not killing deer.

When asked whether Six Nations residents were involved with poaching, Skye said: "There are things I know and there are things I'm not willing to talk about."

The HCA met with representatives from the Six Nations band council on Friday, said HCA operations manager Bruce Mackenzie.

The representatives will communicate with its members and report back to the authority, Mackenzie said.

Councillor Lloyd Ferguson said police should patrol the area once the issue is clear.

"I think the police should be engaged and enforce the law," he said.

"I'm sure it's terribly unnerving for neighbours to have people shooting deer near their home."