November 22, 2011
Hamilton Spectator
The deer hunt in the Dundas Valley is going “good,” but that’s all the Hamilton Conservation Authority will say.
HCA director Steve Miazga is awaiting a report from Haudenosaunee hunters in the conservation area on the amount of deer collected in the harvest.
There is no process to monitor the amount of deer killed or the number of hunters active in the area across the street from Ancaster High School.
Both the HCA and the Haudenosaunee previously agreed to a maximum of 40 deer in a hunt that will run Mondays through Wednesdays until Dec. 21.
Miazga estimated a dozen hunters would be in the area bound by Jerseyville, Power Line, Paddy Greene and Martin roads.
So far, there have been no complaints to the HCA and no use of shotguns, says Miazga.
The protocol established between the two parties states that hunters will notify the HCA if they begin to use shotguns, but does not indicate what kind of ammunition would be used.
Asked if short range buck shot or longer range slugs would be in use, Miazga said he didn’t know and that he wasn’t a hunter. He later said he was told the range of the shotguns would be less than 100 metres.
The hunt didn’t stop Janet Raymond from completing her five-kilometre walk on the westerly edge of the hunt area.
“Do I think it’s odd that people are hunting in Ancaster? Yes,” Raymond said Monday on Martin Road.
She takes walks in some portion of the conservation area on a daily basis, rarely entering the hunt area.
Raymond, who was accompanied by a girl about 10 years of age, said she wasn’t worried about the hunters, and would continue to take her Australian Shepherd, Charlie, on regular jaunts through the Dundas Valley.
Brian Skye of the Haudenosaunee Wildlife and Habitat Authority could not be reached for comment.
The HCA and Haudenosaunee are to meet within six weeks of the hunt’s close.
“We’re counting on them to report to us,” Miazga said.