Jeff Beckwith wants to shoot Prince Rupert wolves with his bow and arrow

The deputy fire chief in Prince Rupert wants the city to change a bylaw that would allow him to shoot wolves with his bow and arrow.

RCMP issued a warning about wolves being seen in residential areas and School District 52 is telling children to make sure they go home directly after school, stay away from the woods, and walk in pairs if possible.

"I certainly have friends who have had pets literally shredded in front of them six feet away by wolves," Jeff Beckwith told Daybreak North's Carolina de Ryk.

Jeff Beckwith is an avid bow hunter and is making these recommendations as a private citizen, not in his role as the deputy fire chief of Prince Rupert.

Hunting with a bow and arrow is currently banned by the City of Prince Rupert. He wants the city to change that bylaw, allowing hunters to target both wolves, as well as deer — which he said attract hungry wolves to the city.

"[Bow hunting] is a method that's used in the province for areas where you have a buffer zone between the urban population and the rural wilderness," he said.

Beckwith has been trying to change the bylaw to allow bow hunting the past 15 years. He hopes recent warnings will encourage the city to act now.

"I can leave that to the city fathers to debate. Personally, I would rather be proactive on an event than to have a news article go forward saying that someone was attacked because we had options and wanted to see if something was going to actually happen."

City council currently doesn't have any plans to review its bylaw.

To hear the full interview with Jeff Beckwith, click the audio labelled: Jeff Buckwith wants to hunt wolves with bow and arrow.