Quinte West resident raises concerns about duck hunting near Bain Park

A Quinte West, Ont., resident is raising concerns regarding duck hunting happening near a children’s play centre in Trenton.

Quinte West resident Burritt Clarke often walks along the waterfront at Bain Park in Trenton, and was surprised one day when he heard gunshots.

“They were pretty close, really close,” Clarke said of the hunters, who he said were near the park.

Now well into duck hunting season, hunters across the province are able to head out with their permits for a day of shooting game.

Clarke said he doesn’t think firing guns should be allowed so close to where children play.

The popular public area features a children’s play centre, two ball diamonds and a soccer field.

“The fear is, sooner or later, a child is going to get shot when they’re going down to the water’s edge to look at the ducks,” he said.

Currently, no laws are being broken, according to the Ontario Provincial Police, the City of Quinte West and Ben Harvey, owner of High Falls Outfitters in Belleville.

“No laws are being broken, but it just might not be highly encouraged to be in that area, due to the fact that there are kids, a military base with operations going on, and things like that,” said Harvey.

According to Harvey, education on hunting laws might help in the form of signage at the park, something Quinte West councillor-elect Duncan Armstrong views positively.

“This only takes place certain times of the year, so I think the city would welcome the idea, I would hope, for signage. Plus, we have a website to remind people that it is the season,” said Armstrong.

A statement from the city said it continues to “work with it’s public safety partners to review and update current practices to ensure we continue to meet the needs of the community.”

Clarke is calling for park spaces to be protected by a safe buffer zone between where people can fire a gun and where people live and play but for now, he hopes his own public awareness campaign through his website Safe Play for Children will at least warn park users about what he worries might be an accident waiting to happen.