Archery hunting on farmland inside the City Limits
 

I have had the privilege of archery hunting on a quarter section of land on the edge of the City of Calgary for 20 odd years. Approximately 2-3 years ago the city expanded and the farm ended up inside the new city limits. It was both the landowner's and my understanding that archery hunting was still permitted as long as I had a permission letter from the landowner. With his blessing I continued to hunt but unfortunately he recently passed away and his nephew is the executor of the estate. He is a good guy and is open to allowing me to continue to hunt but he has asked me if I could find something in writing so we are both covered. I have made calls to both Fish and Wildlife and the City of Calgary and have had no luck. In fact, both of these offices simply told me to inquire at the other organization. I'm not ready to give up yet but in the meantime can someone from the forum steer me in the right direction. Thanks.

I thought that Calgary had a bylaw prohibiting the use of archery equipment within the city limits .
If that is the case Hunting would not be allowed .
Cat

Interesting predicament,

Not supposed to discharge a bow in the city but perhaps there is a way to get allowance.

If you want to shake your head or laugh, check this link out about rabbits

https://www.google.com/amp/s/globaln...t-calgary/amp/

No you Can't. There is no hunting in city limits at all for any reason anywhere.

It is illegal to shoot archery arrows within the city limits of Calgary unless you are at an approved archery range / shooting facility.

I would continue to search for a definitive answer from someone official. It has been awhile now (and things may have changed) but, here in Edmonton hunting was allowed in the agricultural areas in the city limits.

Thanks for the responses. I will continue to research it and hopefully get an answer. It's been an amazing run while it lasted and if I am officially done then so be it. Lots of memories and lots of great animals. Probably more than my share!:)

Thank you[/QUOTE]

Curious what part of the city you were hunting in? Please share some pics of these great animals you have taken if you don't mind.
There are many great trophies all around the city.
Thank you.

Does that mean we have to close down gun and archery ranges , indoor or out doors :argue2::angry3::sHa_shakeshout:

I had this same situation about 5 years ago. Found some great land, inside City limits, landowner said yes as long as it is legal, called F&W, they said not legal, never hunted the land.

No they have exemptions to operate, and target practice isn’t the same as hunting.

LC

Call cps non emergency ask if it’s legal to shoot a bow inside city limits. Calgary police non emergency # 403-266-1234 as for a specific bylaws or link so we can put everyone on both side minds to rest.

Not on certified ranges but then I thought you would realize that .
Cat

I think this post should die a quiet death... mods should delete it.

Memory fading but also thought this was doable and the land parcel had to be a certain size in order to do?

Talk about an alarmist.

This doesn't answer your question for archery.
 

First, for those who have piped up from other municipalities, what you can or can't do in your municipality does not necessarily transfer to other municipalities. Even if Federal or Provincial laws/regulations say that you can hunt in a municipality, a municipality can write more restrictive laws, but cannot write less restrictive laws.

I was a Special Constable/Peace Officer in various capacities for the City of Calgary from September 1990 to December 2018. At one point, I was authorized to use shotguns and high performance pellet rifles to control pests like pigeons, skunks etc and livestock dangerous to the public safety under the authority of the Chief of Police.

In Calgary, the Bylaw that deals with most of this discussion is the Streets Bylaw - 20M88. Yes, the 88 means it was written in 1988. Kind of pathetic, but it is what it is.

The Bylaw is very clear about firearms and pellet rifles etc, if it is not used on an approved range, it is illegal to use in the City of Calgary.

You cannot use archery equipment and other associated weapons on public property in the City of Calgary. Unfortunately it is silent about archery on private land.

It has been general knowledge in Bylaw, and Fish and Wildlife that hunting is not allowed in Calgary. Bylaw had no role in enforcing it, but in discussing this issue with a former coworker who is still employed as a Calgary Peace Officer, Fish and Wildlife has investigated hunting in the City in the past (think about the deer with an arrow in it near Riverbend several years ago). Unfortunately, I've grown old enough that any Fish and Wildlife Officers I knew have retired, I no longer know any in the F&W Calgary office. Archery has been a sticky topic at Bylaw, and we've been unable to nail it down. Suggestions to amend the Bylaw so that it is clear one way or another, have fallen on deaf ears.

Another possibility is the Land Use Bylaw. It is hundreds of pages long and one Bylaw I never enforced. I can't think of any Development Inspectors that I knew that are still employed. Time marches on.

You could request clarification from your City Councillor, they will direct your inquiry and try to get you an authoritative answer.

The following is the applicable sections from the Street Use Bylaw.


Calgary Streets Bylaw 20M88

DANGEROUS AND UNLAWFUL PRACTICES

8. Unless otherwise lawfully authorized, no person shall convey a firearm, pellet gun, B.B. gun, air gun, or gas operated gun in which a round of ammunition for such a gun or firearm is in the chamber within the City.


9. (1) No person shall discharge a firearm, pellet gun, B.B. gun, air gun or a gas powered gun within the City.

(2) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the Chief of Police may authorize the discharge of a firearm or gun for animal control purposes, special events or within the range facilities of a gun club or similar organization.

(3) An authorization under Subsection (2) shall be in writing and may be in the form of a specific authorization or an annual permit for a specified location, event or activity.

(4) Subject to Subsection (2) an authorization under this section may be granted, with or without conditions, where, having regard to the circumstances and location of the discharge activity, it is deemed, in the absolute discretion of the Chief of Police, to be in the public interest.

(5) The Chief of Police may further delegate any authority under this Section to a designated person or position in The Calgary Police Service.
(32M96, 1996 June 24)


10. No person shall shoot an arrow from a bow of any nature, over, across, or along any portion of a Street, public place, or upon any land owned by The City unless otherwise authorized pursuant to a bylaw of The City of Calgary, or in the case of a Park, unless authorized by the Director, Calgary Parks or his designate.
(23M2003, 2004 January 12)
(7M2016, 2016 February 18)


11. Subject to Subsection 11.1, no person shall discharge a sling-shot, bolaro, or device of any kind which will propel a projectile that may cause injury or harm, over, across, or along any portion of a Street, public space, or upon any land owned by the City.
(23M2003, 2004 January 12)


11.1 The Director, Calgary Parks or his designate may permit, subject to any conditions he considers appropriate, the discharge of devices or projectiles within a Park or a specific area of a Park.
(23M2003, 2004 January 12)
(7M2016, 2016 February 18)

The more this is discussed and the more people dig around and “wake up the beast” the more likely it is that a new bylaw will be passed strictly forbidding the practice.

hear you calgarychef but not everyone is ok with any possibly grey area, and in this case the landowner just needs assurance one way or another, it is his land and his liability in the end, so until he has assurance it's a no either way, i think the pro's outweigh the con's in this case (and most cases like it), running grey until you get made an example of would be pretty crap deal so it's in all of our benefit to know...imo