On the first day of bow hunting season, Shuniah Council has legalized the practise in the rural community.
Under the new bylaw, hunting with bows and arrows will be legal if permission from private property owners is obtained.
Hunting on one's own property is endorsed up to 75 metres from a neighbour's property line. Hunters are also expected to abide by all Ministry of Natural Resources regulations.
"We've just had so much input brought in from the community and it really has been a good process," said Shuniah Reeve, Wendy Landry.
"The emails, telephone calls and the room was packed on the day of our public meeting. We took all that input into consideration."
The bylaw mirrors seasonal hunt regulations within municipal boundaries that have been undertaken in recent years in Thunder Bay, Oliver-Papoonge and Kenora.
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters local vice chair Gilles Dumais first approached Shuniah with the idea. He said rural residents were pleased to discuss opportunities to address problem animals in the township.
"For years, Shuniah residents have been saying they have a lot of problems with the wildlife like the deer, the wolves and bears that are in their area because they aren't being hunted so they become too used to human beings," Dumais said.
