Farmers must have licenses to hunt large game on their properties, MNR says

Monday, December 16, 2013

by JOE CALLAHAN

Deer hunting season comes to a close in most of Ontario at the end of December and officials at the Ministry of Natural Resources report that there were 10 accidental shootings this season, none of them fatal.

“About half way through the second week, there were 10 guys who either shot themselves or had been shot by one of their hunting partners,” says Greg Borne, Conservation Officer at the Kemptville district office.  “I thought that was a lot but when you look at the statistics, it’s about average.”

There were roughly 6,500 registered hunters. During the season 243 charges were laid and 435 warnings issued. Most of the infractions stem from hunters not carrying their licenses with them or not wearing an appropriate amount of hunter orange coloured clothing. Again, according to Borne, the number of infractions this year was on average compared to recent years.

Ministry regulations require hunters to wear an “orange garment” and head cover. “The hunter orange garment must cover a minimum of 400 square inches above the waist and be visible from all sides,” the regulations state.

Borne also confirmed that when hunting large games such as deer, farmers must acquire hunting licenses to hunt on their own property unless they have received special permission to hunt nuisance species. Additionally, to hunt on farmers’ property, hunters must have explicit permission from the property owner.

A summary of hunting regulations in Ontario can be found here. BF