Farm environment officers drop their guns

The provincial officers on P.E.I. who enforce environmental bylaws on farms have put down their firearms for good.

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The province hopes the change will lead to better relations with the farm community. The change follows a pilot project last year, in response to complaints from farmers that firearms were too much.

"For many, many years, those in the field felt a little bit intimidated when somebody would be coming up their driveway with sidearms and ticket book," said Environment Minister Robert Mitchell.

"This new approach is something they were looking for, something that we certainly feel that we'll probably achieve more compliance on than we may have in the past."

A more cooperative approach

Shawn Schofield, who is in charge of the four-person agricultural unit, hopes to build an entirely different kind of relationship with farmers.

"Success will be based on whether or not people within the agriculture community start contacting us to correct issues that are on their farm or on their property," said Schofield.

The officers enforce legislation regarding animal health, crop rotation and unsightly properties.

The new officers have responded to dozens of calls so far this season, mainlyregarding buffer zone and pesticide concerns.

They've issued one ticket and one warning.

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