This was taken from the Winnipeg Sun
Manitoba will allow big game hunting on Sundays across the province this year, much to the delight of the thousands of Manitoba hunters with day jobs.
The province passed a regulation March 6 that extends Sunday hunting for deer, moose, elk, caribou, bear, wolf and coyote across the entire province.
First allowed in northern Manitoba in 1993 and extended incrementally south since then, Sunday hunting had been banned up until now in all of southern Manitoba, from the Riding Mountain area and the southern Interlake to the U.S. border.
"We're happy. Our policy has always been that we're in favour of Sunday hunting," said Dale Garnham, president of the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, which represents hunters and anglers. "We have a lot of working people and younger, new hunters that basically the only time they can get out is on the weekends, so this doubles their opportunity."
Brian Hagglund, wildlife allocations manager for Manitoba Conservation, said increasing hunter opportunity is precisely the point. He said the move could also inject money into the economy, as having a full weekend to hunt may prompt people to spend more on hotel rooms, gas, and restaurant meals.
A study in Saskatchewan, which is also going to full Sunday hunting this year, estimated the economic boost at $9 million, Hagglund said.
Although he was unsure of the exact historical legislation, Hagglund said Sunday hunting was likely originally banned for the same reasons as shopping and other activities. When consulting with municipalities about the move, he found 18 out of 82 that had concerns.
"They just felt there should be a break for the animals and the people. Whether it's based on religious reasons, I don't know," he said. "But we have to do what's best for the province as a whole.
"It's about the only thing you can't do on Sundays nowadays."
Sunday hunting for migratory birds and turkeys has been in place provincewide since 2001.
"I've never heard one complaint about it," Hagglund said.
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