People hunting by night in Saskatchewan will have to rely on moonlight to spot their prey.
The provincial government last week brought in regulations banning the use of spotlights, night vision scopes, headlights or any other artificial light in the hunting of wildlife.
The new rules introduced by environment minister Lorne Scott also ban shooting at night from any road, road allowance or right-of-way, including shoulders or ditches.
Scott said the new regulations will protect public safety while also preserving rights of Indians and Metis to hunt at any time on unoccupied crown land or reserves. It will be up to individual First Nations to regulate spotlight hunting on reserve land.
“The approach we have chosen prohibits all unsafe night hunting in Saskatchewan, while respecting treaty and aboriginal rights, ” he said in a press release.
The new rules were welcomed by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, but criticized by the opposition Saskatchewan Party, which said all night hunting should be completely banned.
