Some Alberta farmers are calling on the province to hire more Fish & Wildlife officers, after dealing with hunters illegally shooting onto their land.
Darcy Wirch says hunters have been parking on the roads surrounding his property near Drayton Valley, to hunt elk that are on his land. He says two weeks ago, a bow hunter missed an elk, and hit and killed one of his cattle.
“They’re driving up and down the roads just looking for the wildlife and if they see something they shoot it out of their vehicles.”
He says it isn’t surprising but, he’s worried about more than just his cattle, he is worried about his family.
“They could shoot at the house any time. We feed the animals down here, close to the road so the chances of them again shooting across the animals to get to the elk are quite high.”
Wirch isn’t the only one who has dealt with these types of issues. Charlie Parker owns land about a kilometre down the road from Wirch. Parker says last year, a hunter drove past his farm and attempted to shoot a coyote on his property.
“He shot back at our house trying to get this coyote,” Parker said adding, “You’re mad all the time but, there’s not much you can do.”
Wirch says he has contacted Fish & Wildlife officers numerous times however,
“It’s the same issue with all of them through the years, they’re understaffed. They don’t have the man power.”
There are three Fish & Wildlife officers that are responsible for Wirch’s region. It’s a large area covering Wetaskiwin and Leduc counties. There are a total of 112 field officers in Alberta, down from 140 in the early 90s. Since then, Alberta’s population has grown by approximately one million people.
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ President Guy Smith says recruitment is down and there simply aren’t enough resources.
“They’re just unable to meet the needs and the demands of the job. They’re doing what they can, where they can,” he said adding, “They just don’t have enough boots on the ground.”
Wirch says he is just worried about next month, when elk hunting season begins.
With files from Fletcher Kent.
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