The beleaguered Pitt Meadows Gun Club won’t be hosting its annual Christmas shoot this year, as the club struggles with regulatory problems.
“While the Pitt Meadows Gun Club moves forward in getting out permitting issues sorted out, we will not be able to have our annual Christmas meat shoot,” says a notice on the club website, posted Nov. 21.
The shoot will be held on Dec. 10 at the Ridgedale Rod and Gun club in Abbotsford, with a 9 a.m. start.
The club, which offers trap and skeet shooting at clay pigeons for sport shotgun enthusiasts, has been closed since neighbours complained to city hall and other agencies about lead contamination of the soil at the site, increased noise from more shooting activity, lack of permits and other issues.
Vic Skaarup of the BC Wildlife Federation said soil contamination does not have to be a deal breaker for shooting clubs, and his group is helping clubs to start management plans for lead shot.