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Coquitlam bylaw won't stop poachers

The Editor, Re. "Guns vs. bows as council splits" (The Tri-City News, March 28). At council in committee on March 26, Coquitlam council received a staff report on the new firearm and bow discharge bylaw .

The Editor,

Re. "Guns vs. bows as council splits" (The Tri-City News, March 28).

At council in committee on March 26, Coquitlam council received a staff report on the new firearm and bow discharge bylaw. Council had requested and received a map in the report showing the bow hunting incidents that have caused this council safety concerns.

A closer look at these incidents reveals that they took place in older developed residential areas of Coquitlam. Some were outside permitted hunting season. The most publicized incident occurred on farm property, and farmers are permitted to protect their crops under provincial regulations.

Under the hunting regulations, it is illegal to hunt in a residential area and outside the permitted hunting season. The term council should be using is "poaching incidents." There is nothing to indicate these incidents were the result of hunters.

Ethical bow hunters have traditionally hunted in the wilderness of north Coquitlam and beyond for decades without any reported incidents. Coquitlam council will not, with its new bylaw, stop illegal activity in their neighbourhoods by criminals who ignore provincial laws.

Paul Juoksu, Coquitlam