People have been hunting ducks and geese by Little Lake in Barrie for years. But since the city took control of the land and lake from the Township of Springwater earlier this year, hunting has been banned. “It’s been here for years. They have hunted here and when the bush was here they would hunt the turkeys and stuff up there as well,” says Patty Nevils, a Barrie Resident. Earlier this week, a number of home owners by the lake reported multiple gun shots. Police say they found people hunting in the area unaware of the recent boundary changes and new bylaws. The hunters were found to be complying with provincial and federal hunting regulations and were provided with education about the new City of Barrie boundaries and bylaws around when and where firearms can be discharged. To be clear, Barrie bylaw says the discharge of firearms is prohibited right across the city. That includes bows, cross bows, guns, bb guns, paintball guns and even pellet guns. Most people who live near Little Lake say they support those who want to hunt but just hope people are better informed moving forward. “There are kids here. I mean, you can see the swing sets and the jungle gyms and so on and so forth, so I would be trepidatious before firing off any guns,” says George Gibman, a Barrie resident. “You are responsible for knowing your seasons and you are also responsible for knowing where you can hunt,” says Gary Banting of Wolf’s Den Sports in Essa Township. Banting encourages all hunters to refer to the regulations book for rules and regulations. He also says in-person training is likely best. “Whenever you take the Hunters Education course, what happened before you had to take it in a classroom setting where you had a teacher talking to you? So there was a lot of other little things that were between the lines that he got to where nowadays you can do it online and a lot of people are switching to that,” says Banting. The maximum penalty for discharging any kind of firearm or bow in the city of Barrie is a $5,000 fine.
