Kimberley City Council has voted to have staff review the current Deer Feeding Bylaw. This comes after a recent Urban Deer Advisory Committee (UDAC) Meeting, where committee members thought it was time for a change.
At a regular meeting of Council on Monday, June 25, 2018, Council discussed the issues.
Councillor Darryl Oakley, who sits on the Board for the UDAC, says that the committee is seeking feedback from staff in the form of a review. He explained that the main reasons are to allow for the potential of a larger minimum fine, and for the Conservation Officer Service to use their own budgetary discretion when it comes to feeding issues.
The current fine for feeding deer starts at $50 for the first offence, and $500 for each subsequent offence. The same goes for anyone who permits deer to be fed on their property.
Oakley added that according to the the Wildlife Act, C.O.’s can only deal with safety issues, and it’s a “strict” government “process”.
“The Conservation Officer Service gets 500 calls from Kimberley per year,” said Oakley, who added that most of which are for human-wildlife conflicts.
Despite the red tape, the C.O’s have been working with Kimberley Bylaw to educate the public on why there is a deer feeding bylaw, by way of speaking with those who have been issued warnings or tickets for feeding.
Councillor Kent Goodwin suggested that it would be prudent to change the bylaw to reflect feeding all wildlife, as opposed to just deer.