Some changes could be coming to select hunting fees in the area, specifically for non-Chatham-Kent residents.
Municipal staff is recommending that the $20 fee for a non-resident hunting license be removed for the open season of small game, pheasants and rabbits.
In 1998, a bylaw was originally created to authorize the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to continue issuing licences to regulate hunting during the open season of small game, pheasants, and rabbits. A licence fee of $5 for residents and $15 for non-residents was approved. Under the bylaw, a person who hunted rabbits or pheasants was required to obtain the municipal licence in addition to the require provincial license, which is valid each year from September 25 to the last day of February.
In 2004, council approved getting rid of the licence fee for anyone who has a permanent residence within Chatham-Kent but to keep the non-resident fee, which was eventually increased to $20 in 2013.
However, in an effort to cut down on paperwork and regulations, staff is requesting that the bylaw be withdrawn and the non-resident fee be removed.
"In an effort to reduce red tape, administration recommends that the hunting bylaw be repealed," stated the staff report.
The municipality received a total of $1,320 in revenue from non-resident pheasant and rabbit hunting licence fees in 2018, which works out to 66 licences. The staff report also points out that very few municipalities in Southwestern Ontario require a municipal license to hunt pheasant and rabbits.
If council approves removing the non-resident licence fee, the decision must first be authorized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry before it is finalized. The report said any loss in revenue from discontinuing the licenses will be absorbed within the Licensing Department’s base budget.