Nero never fiddled while Rome burned. He diddled while Rome burned, which would qualify him for implementing the new provisions in Bill 212 that authorizes landowners to harass, kill or capture elk to protect their property.

Omnibus Bill 212 "The Good Government Act 2009" was passed November 4, but North Hastings farmer Dave Parks whose crops have been ravaged by elk for four years, says permits still haven’t been issued and the Ministry of Natural resources (MNR) doesn’t have a process in place.

Because of the shift of MNR Minister Donna Canfield to another portfolio last month, Parks thinks the new regulations will flounder in the MNR bureaucracy.

In December, Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Bette Jean Crews urged the minister to issue authorizations or permits in early 2010, before the elk begin to prey on crops during the spring and summer. But time is slipping by. Parks says Vince Ewing, district MNR manager, told the Bancroft Times that implementation could take a minimum of six to eight months, meaning another growing season of harassment.

Parks is angry that the "government is sitting back" and allowing the Quinte Elk Restoration Committee to continue feeding the elk. He says the Committee feeds the elk 200 square bales of second cut alfalfa hay and 40 bags of cracked corn and a weed seed mixture twice monthly.

On February 3, Parks hosted 35 unwelcome elk eating his stored alfalfa hay, evidently having acquired the taste. He sells 10,000 bales of horse hay annually and says the elk are cutting into his farm revenue.

In a letter, Crews applauded Canfield for the provision in the Act that regulates the feeding of wildlife. "We believe that year-round feeding of elk in Bancroft/North Hastings has not benefitted the elk nor the farm businesses in the area," she wrote.

The size of the elk herd varies depending on the source. MNR estimates come in at 400 or 500 elk but locals believe there are between 700 and 800 elk in the area. The herd could be genetically sustained with 250 elk, a government official told Farmers Forum. He can’t be named because he is not an official spokesman.

Parks has some powerful opponents to his pleas to thin out the elk herd. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is against the issuance of kill permits for elk, a protected species.