Antler Wars

The North Road

Every fall, thousands of hunters head to the Gaspé Peninsula and the Bas-Saint-Laurent, where moose are particularly abundant. These forests belong to the public domain, but on the ground, long-established groups sometimes behave as if they had exclusive rights.

The report follows wildlife guards around Causapscal, responsible for an immense territory with a small team. Intimidating signs, obstructed paths, caches and permanent camps draw a parallel geography: that of the areas that are assigned by habit, pressure or fear.

A Coveted Territory

To measure the welcome of newcomers, the journalist presents himself as a hunter looking for a place. From the first few kilometers, trunks bar side paths and messages announce that someone is already there. Public territory becomes a test of power relations.

Violence is not always symbolic. The camp of a family is burned with gas bottles. Elsewhere, threats, vandalism and unlawfully slaughtered animals are reported. In the woods, the scarcity of a police presence turns a conflict of use into a war of intimidation.

Local hunters invoke road maintenance, years of watching game and a lasting relationship with the place. Those from outside recall that their licence gives them the same rights. Between local anchoring and equal access, no improvised sign can act as a common rule.

Scam in the woods

The government has created regional tables to promote sharing, but officers still have to prove each offence. A barrier or trailer is not always illegal in itself; It is all the gestures, often carried out away from witnesses, that construct exclusion.

This grey area also opens the door to scams. Sites or facilities are transferred as if the seller owned the parcel, while the land remains public. The newcomer can pay dearly for a privilege that does not exist legally and discover too late the hostility of neighbours.

The War of the Antlers does not therefore oppose only hunters. It reveals the boundaries of the state in a vast, coveted and difficult space to monitor. A collective resource remains common only if the rules are understood, applied and strong enough to replace the law of the strongest.

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