Kamloops rancher asks hunters for more respect following property damage

With hunting season well underway, some ranchers near Kamloops are fed up with the damage some hunters are doing to their properties.

Hunters in the area are reportedly trespassing on property without asking permission first, leaving gates open for cows to get out, cutting wires and breaking fences.

iNFOnews has agreed to keep the rancher interviewed for this story anonymous because she fears repercussions.

“There is a locked gate on the driveway and last week, instead of turning around, hunters passed a sign that said private property, cut the wire and snapped the posts. They just drove through and left it,” she said. “Gates are often found left open. The cows get out, sometimes between adjacent properties and get mixed up. It is a big job to sort them back out.”

Asking permission from private land owners before entry and closing gates back up are part of the hunting code of ethics.

The rancher said when hunters ask permission first it creates a win-win situation for both parties.

“Ranchers can inform hunters where the wildlife have been spotted and hunters can tell ranchers if they see something suspicious, such as illegal traps, and let us know if there are broken sections of fence,” she said. “It turns into a great relationship.”

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The rancher said most often local hunters in the area are very respectful, even reporting to ranchers when they see someone else on the property who might not belong there and fixing gates.

“The ranching community is close knit,” she said. “We deal with these issues every year. We don’t think it is our local hunters that are being disrespectful, we think it comes from hunters from out of town. We just want to talk to them first so we can know when and where they are.”

The rancher said setting up security cameras around their 3,000 acre property is not feasible and even though there are ranch hands working on the property to keep watch, they are often busy.

“There isn’t time to patrol such a large piece of land,” she said. “There are many sections that are only accessible by horseback. We have to rely on the honour system.”

The rancher maintains most hunters using the land are respectful.

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Kamloops resident Brad Corbet has been hunting since he was a teenager. He said he would never trespass on private land.

“Always ask permission first,” he said. “Most land owners are receptive if you ask. If they are not, you have to respect that. The leave-the-gate-as-you-found it rule is as old as the hills themselves and should be common sense.”

Corbet said he has received permission to hunt on two nearby ranches in the past.

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