Dogs who are caught running deer can be destroyed, if they’re caught, and their owners can be fined, warns the conservation officer service.
CO Ed Seitz says an owner on Huckleberry Road out Highway 33 was warned after his dogs were chasing wildlife because it can kill the deer, even if the dogs don’t.
“Well-fed, well-rested dogs who are left outside to run at large during the day while folks are away from home, in deer winter range, can do a lot of harm,” said Seitz.
“The deer have limited resources and when they use up their energy that way they can die from exposure,” he explained.
It’s particularly damaging later in the year when the does are pregnant with their fawns, he said, because they can abort their young under that kind of stress.
It’s illegal for dogs to run any kind of wildlife under the Wildlife Act, he said.
jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com
