The Manitoba government has set its sights on hunt farms.
Earlier this month, the government passed legislation that sets the stage for a ban on new hunt farms and the gradual elimination of existing hunt farms in the province.
It was something the New Democrats have been wanting to do for years.
“We’re not going to stand in the way of (farm) diversification if it’s anything other than putting an animal in a pen and shooting it,” said NDP MLA Stan Struthers.
Struthers regards “penned hunts” as an abhorrent practice. The element of fairness is lost, he said, when an animal is confined to a fenced enclosure and stalked by hunters.
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“It really goes against my grain of fairness. It’s something that’s been sticking in our craw for a long time.”
Hunting of farmed elk is illegal in Manitoba but the province has allowed hunt farms for some species such as wild boar.
The latest legislation was an added disappointment to Peter Kalden, an elk grower at St. Martin, Man.
It dimmed his hopes that hunting of farmed elk would one day be legal in Manitoba, giving producers another income option.
“They’re taking all the incentive away from anybody to get into the business.”
Saskatchewan allows hunting of farmed elk. The farms attract hunters, many of them Americans, who are willing to pay large sums for the chance to shoot a bull elk.
Critics of the effort to ban hunt farms in Manitoba say the initiative is driven by urban people afflicted by the Bambi syndrome.
“Legislation of that kind tends to come from a lobby that’s heavily influenced by the Walt Disney Corporation’s Bambi,” said Barry Olsen, president of the Western Canadian Wild Boar Association.
“They have the notion that animals have equal rights with people, and I’m not sure that they do. Biologically we’re at the top of the food chain.”
Sue Brotherston is among those applauding the move to eliminate hunt farms in Manitoba.
She went public last year with concerns about a wild boar hunt farm in the Lac du Bonnet area. The hunt farm, located across from her home in a residential neighborhood, posed a danger for people living nearby, she said.
Brotherston considers penned hunting an “atrocious” practice. She petitioned the Manitoba government to have it banned.
“It’s good news,” she said when asked about the government’s latest actions. “It’s very good news. I, for one, am happy about it.”
The Manitoba government last week could not say to what extent penned hunting already exists in Manitoba.
The government said there will be a transition time given to farms already hosting penned hunts.
Struthers said he is not aware of any government plans to compensate producers affected by the gradual elimination of hunt farms.
Kalden wonders whether the province has the political will to force existing hunt farms out of business.
“If they were to close down existing operations, they would definitely face lawsuits and that’s what they want to avoid.”
