County resident Phil Primavera says he’ll likely never stop feeding deer at his Haliburton Feed and Seed location on Mallard Road, no matter how many tickets he receives from Dysart et al’s bylaw department.
It’s been about 15 months since the township introduced legislation outlawing deer feeding in Haliburton village and residential areas on the north shore of Lake Kashagawigamog. The original bylaw, passed in July 2023, prohibited feeding in Ward 1 between May 1 and Sept. 30, though an update last November made it a blanket ban – meaning no deer to be fed at any time.
Violators face a $150 fine each time they’re caught feeding. Primavera said he received two tickets earlier this summer.
“The first time I was charged was about three months ago, the ticket was filled out incorrectly. Then they came back a couple of days later and issued me with another ticket – I didn’t pay either of them,” Primavera said, noting the township opted not to follow through on the first offence, with the second thrown out in court.
The entrepreneur said he’s been feeding deer on Mallard Road for about four years. He gives them carrots and “supplementary treats” like corn and molasses. Seven fullgrown deer and a couple fawns could be seen wandering the Feed and Seed property Sept. 27.
Primavera said he gets a kick out of seeing the animals – he and his wife raise deer at their small family farm – and doesn’t see that changing any time soon. He told Dysart council last week he has no plans to stop feeding them.
“I just like them – I moved up from the city where it isn’t a normal thing to see a deer wandering around. I think it’s amazing you can walk out your front door and have these animals right there. I see them every day and never get bored of it,” Primavera said. “To me, feed them, don’t feed them – I don’t care what you do. This is more about property rights to me.”
He believes the township is wasting valuable time and resources on a bylaw he says is difficult to enforce – for a ticket to be issued, someone has to be caught, either in-person or on camera, feeding deer. With it largely being complaint-based, Primavera is also worried about pitting neighbours against one another.
Hailey Cole, a Dysart bylaw officer, told The Highlander as of Sept. 30 the township has issued four tickets for deer feeding.
Primavera said he’s not convinced the deer feeding bylaw is actually legal, referencing Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Act from 1997. Section 13 of the act states the Minister of Natural Resources is responsible for prohibiting or regulating the feeding of wildlife, not municipalities.
Cole said the bylaw was sent to MNR for review before being adopted.
“The only commented we received was to ensure the bylaw does not interfere with baiting of deer for the purpose of hunting,” she said, noting an exception was included.
Many communities across Ontario have bylaws regulating feeding of wild animals, including Toronto, Thunder Bay, Midland, and Bracebridge.
Petition launched
Primavera understands the rationale behind wanting a ban, saying he’s not completely against one. But he feels there are better ways for the township to achieve its objectives.
While considering a bylaw, council heard how the increased presence of deer has led to more accidents on Haliburton’s roads, with residents Mike and Debra Landry estimating there to be around 100 collisions between animal and vehicle annually. Others complained about deer destroying their personal gardens.
“I’d focus more on education in town – why the deer are here. Deer like to be in open areas to feel safe, that’s why they’re coming into town, not just because people are feeding them,” Primavera said. “I’m probably one of the only guys raising deer in this town – the caloric nutrition one deer needs during the day to survive, a town the size of Haliburton would never be able to completely provide for the population.”
He’s offered to help train people on when and what to feed the deer, estimating there to be around 150 of the wild animals living in Ward 1.
Shelley Stiles, owner of Country Rose, supported the bylaw last year. She said deer regularly frequent her Hwy. 118 property.
She told The Highlander Oct. 2 the deer remain an issue, regularly eating her stock. A new eight-foot fence is currently being installed in an attempt to keep them away.
Primavera has launched a petition calling for the immediate repealing of the bylaw, signed by about 420 people. He plans to deliver it to Dysart council Oct. 22.
“I don’t think this bylaw is in the best interest of the deer, the town, or the people… we live in Haliburton. We’re not a metropolis or a concrete jungle, we’re literally in a forest. If people want to feed deer on their property, they should be allowed to do it,” he said.
Mayor Murray Fearrey said council has no plans to revisit the issue.
“We’re actually hearing from some of the rural areas that this is working, they’re not seeing as many deer,” Fearrey said. “There’s no appetite to kill the bylaw. We’ll look at it after a year, see what’s good, how reasonable things are, and what we can improve.”
