There’s nothing like living in the country in the great outdoors — until you hear bullets whizzing over your head.
That seems to be a growing consensus among some irate property owners who live in areas a short drive from Thunder Bay like Nolalu, Hymers and south Gillies.
A recent flurry of social-media posts suggest some hunters in those areas have been violating basic hunter-safety rules, or trespassing on private property in pursuit of deer and moose.
“Who is this rock brain, shooting (from) the centre of a dip in the road, aiming in the direction of a house and a lady walking her dog?” one post read.
Another read: “This happens every day down Highway 593; had someone half way up my driveway, shooting.”
In Ontario, it’s illegal to discharge a firearm down or across a roadway while hunting, even when wildlife are in sight.
The Ministry of Natural Resources didn’t immediately respond this week, when asked if enforcement is being stepped up in the areas in question. But conservation officers have in other years set up moose and deer decoys in problem areas to catch violators in the act.
Earlier this year, a Thunder Bay man was fined $2,000 for shooting at a deer decoy that had been set up on an O’Connor Township property in 2022.
Provincial conservation officers erected the decoy after receiving complaints that hunters had been hunting on private property without prior consent of land owners.
According to a provincial investigation, when the hunter spotted the decoy, he came out of his vehicle and fired at it.
Conmee Mayor Sheila Maxwell said hunters may inadvertently trespass because they don’t suspect there are any dwellings or people beyond the trees along a country road.
“I think this happens a lot in many of the rural communities,” Maxwell said on Thursday.
She said she hadn’t yet heard specific reports about hunters shooting illegally in Conmee.
“Most people who live out here understand the rules of where and how to hunt, and respect that, but there are the odd few that need reminding,” Maxwell added.
A Thunder Bay OPP detachment spokesman said on Thursday that if someone is concerned about illegal hunting, they should contact the detachment or a conservation officer “when these things happen.”
Suspected wildlife violations and illegal hunting activity can be reported to a provincial tips line by calling 1-877-847-7667.
