Wellington North council will not be making a decision on Sunday gun hunting until its first meeting of the new year.
After hearing two delegations in favour of allowing hunting with firearms on Sundays, council decided to defer the decision until Jan. 11 and asked for a staff report.
Local resident Wayne Hendry asked, “for a chance for the people of our township to be able to have a choice, not to be told we can’t.”
Joel Tost, a retired conservation officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) sent a letter that was read aloud by councillor Steve McCabe.
He wrote that he spent a lot of time in Wellington North and the Luther Marsh and has attended many meetings to help councillors decide to allow hunting.
“When Sunday hunting was allowed up here (Bruce and Grey counties) in 2005, I was very worried that there may be problems and backlash against hunters when locals and cottagers started hearing gunfire on Sundays,” wrote Tost. “Much to my surprise there have not been problems of any kind. It has become a non-issue in the last 10 years.”
He added the Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area and the Grand River Conservation Area have their own rules about hunting. Luther Marsh currently does not allow hunting on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Mayor Andy Lennox said he would like to see newly-elected councillor Lisa Hern get caught up on the issue before a decision is made.
“My personal recommendation is to delay this decision until early January and that would be open to any other comments from council,” the mayor stated.
