DAN CEARNS The Standard
SCUGOG: The Township of Scugog is moving towards allowing gun hunting, on Sundays, in the Township.
The issue was discussed at a meeting, on Monday, February 5th, after a few residents submitted requests to have Sunday gun hunting allowed.
At the meeting, councillors approved recommendations, to permit Sunday gun hunting, “within the guidelines of the Township’s Discharge of Firearms By-Law,” and to request the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry “add the Township to its list and map of Southern Ontario municipalities which permit Sunday Gun Hunting.”
Currently, hunting is allowed in the Township, during hunting season, from Monday to Saturday.
“Once upon a time, the provincial government did not allow hunting on Sundays, at all. Back in 2005, they decided to open that up and let the municipalities determine whether they wanted to permit hunting on Sundays. It was up to the municipalities to reach out to the provincial government and let them know, yay or nay,” Municipal Law Enforcement officer, Denise Stephenson told councillors.
She also noted, at the time, Scugog Township opted not to allow Sunday gun hunting.
According to a report from Ms. Stephenson, “to date, 189 municipalities in Ontario have decided to allow Sunday Gun Hunting within their borders.”
Ms. Stephenson pointed out the importance of hunting to the Scugog community.
“We are a rural community and hunting is a big part of the lifestyle for many people in rural communities.”