A resident of Kelsey Lake, west of 87 Mile, was stunned to discover some Vancouver-based hunters had shot his pigs recently.
Rolf Friedrich says he heard the shots very close to his remotely-located house and fence line, so he went out to investigate.
“I came across them, and they were gutting my pigs. They had shot three of them.”
The pigs had broken out of his fenced area and were roaming in the forest, Friedrich explains.
The hunters claimed it was wild boar hunting season, he says, and since his pigs were not identification tagged, they told Friedrich it was an “innocent mistake.”
At first the farmer believed what the hunters told him about the regulations, and agreed to let them take the older sow, while he kept the two younger pigs and took them to a butcher.
It wasn’t until Friedrich consulted a conservation officer (CO) that he learned there is no such thing as a boar season in British Columbia, he explains.
Friedrich says he was told boar hunting, feral or otherwise, is not open anywhere in the province.
“Hunters should be aware of the regulations, what they are allowed to shoot, and understand there is livestock out there.”
The hunters also told him they thought they were in Region 3-31 when they were actually in Region 5-2, Friedrich says, adding people also need to know where they are hunting.
“The direction they were shooting was directly at my house.
“It’s kind of scary with all those hunters out there. I’m almost afraid to go out and get firewood in the bush.”
CO James Zuccheli says it is an RCMP issue because it’s not related to wildlife.
“We would be assisting [police] if there are Wildlife Act matters that would arise out of their investigation.”
Friedrich says he later reported the incident to 100 Mile House RCMP, along with the licence plate number of the hunters’ vehicle, which he had recorded at the time.
In the meantime he has rounded up his wayward pigs, which now sport fluorescent survey tape to flag them as domestic animals.
