Thursday, October 08, 2009
Mess of a kill, and an attempt to make sense of it
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: Let me add another objection to the kill permits mess. A man called me from Russell County and he is very upset about the kill permits. A farmer in that county is getting a permit to kill bears that come from high on the Hidden Valley Wildlife Management Area to eat his corn. Judging by the kill, there aren’t many bears there anyway. If the farmer kills five or six, it will probably wipe out all the bears on the Hidden Valley property. That corn isn’t for silage and should have already been down. If there is a reason to leave it standing, a stout electric fence would keep out the bears as well as the deer. A kill permit would just mean more dead bears, and maybe deer. Kill permits should not be allowed!
BILL ANDERSON
BILL: I am a member of the Northumberland County Board of Supervisors and some citizens contacted me about their concerns over kill permits and I contacted the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries with some questions. Below are the answers given by Capt. Mike Minarik:
Q. Can the shooter employ a light at night?
A. Yes, unless specifically prohibited.
Q. Can the shooter use any form of sights -- open, optical or light enhanced?
A. Yes.
Q. Can the shooter use a high-powered rifle, even though Northumberland County does not allow such during the regular deer season?
A. Yes. A kill permit is not considered hunting, thus normal hunting rules, such as weapon restrictions, do not apply
Q. Is the shooter limited only to does?
A. Kill permits are for the taking of antlerless deer only. If male deer are doing damage with their antlers, then an exception may be granted.
Q. Can a farmer who is a lessee, but does not own the property, be granted a kill permit?
A. The Code of Virginia 29.1-529 requires that a kill permit be issued either to the owner or lessee. A permit will not be issued to a lessee if it is known that the landowner does not allow the taking of deer on the leased land.
Q. What notice is supplied to the nearby property owners and citizens when a kill permit is issued?
A. There is no formal notification process. Those who are issued kill permits are usually members of the community. They let their neighbors know what is going on. Often, but not always, the conservation officer who issues the permit will advise the county sheriff’s office that the permit has been issued.
TOMMY TOMLIN
