Amendments to the Wildlife Act Wildlife Management Area Use and Access Regulation which governs public use of lands marked for conservation have been made. As you can read from this article, there are now restrictions on camping, access and rules around dogs in these lands to protect habitat and wildlife in the following areas:
- Bert Brink
- Boundary Bay
- Coquitlam River
- Lhá:lt/Harrison-Chehalis
- Pemberton Wetlands
- Pitt-Addington Marsh
- Roberts Bank
- Serpentine
- Skwelwil’em Squamish Estuary
- South Arm Marshes
- Sturgeon Bank
The amendments update Schedules 1, 2, and 4 of the regulation. In particular section 4 describes leashed dog behaviour:
A person commits an offence if the person enters a wildlife management area described in Schedule 4 with a dog that is not
(a)under the direct control of a person, and
(b)restrained by a leash not longer than 2 metres.
(2)This section does not apply to a person who enters the wildlife management area in order to engage in lawful hunting.
The last section will be of interest to hunters using retrievers. Don’t worry, your duck dog is still allowed.