Your province/territory and moose management

CV32

CV32

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Some of you may have heard that Newfoundland & Labrador is revisiting its moose management strategy for the island, and is seeking input from the public regarding how that strategy should look in future.

A lot of this is resulting from pressure exerted by certain vocal lobby groups, some of which advocate a 'cull' of the island's moose population to drastically reduce the numbers and thereby make our highways safer. Personally, I think that makes as much sense as driving at night with your eyes closed, but anyway ...

If you've hunted moose in Newfoundland before, either as a resident or with an outfitter, please take a few moments to complete a government survey on the topic, which you can find here:

Newfoundland moose management survey

Besides that, however, I'd like to hear from hunters in other parts of Canada, and more specifically, what you really like or dislike about how your own province or territory manages its moose.

Edit: Apparently the survey is not non-resident friendly. :rolleyes: Apologies.
 
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I can't imagine wanting to cull a moose population, this seems like a dangerous road as moose are not a specie that is quick to recover should you get a bad winter or something else to affect the population. They decided to reduce mule deer numbers in our area in 2006, which unforunately was the worst winter in 40 years in our area, resulting in a 70% winter mortality followed by two more bad winters as well as the multiple doe seasons through out the winter to appease the farmers/ranchers in our area. They have since eased the regulations on bucks from four to three point and have maintained a general doe season to further decrease the population. The deer are finally at huntable levels again, but 35 yrs of management to produce true trophy bucks is destroyed in my opinion and for political reasons rather than wildlife management which sounds like the case with your moose.
Our province has a lot of different regs, but I think our area has a very sustainable system. General open season for bulls is Aug 15-31. Sept 1 - Oct 31 Immature bulls (two point or less on one antler), 10 total on main beam or tripalm bulls. Areas with easy access and heavy hunting pressure are closed for the rut Oct 1-15.
 
I'm not sure how much info you're going to get from other areas of Canada, I don't know of any other province/territory that has an overpopulation of moose, other than areas of southern SK as of late. It's quite the contrary in most places actually.

Here's what we do in Manitoba to keep the population from increasing:

http://mwf.mb.ca/wp/2012/10/01/meti...agreement-ending-a-decade-of-bitter-conflict/

A good idea would be to get some information on management from Scandinavian countries where they actually care about their wildlife.

As a side note, I tried completing the survey, but it ends abruptly after I click my province of residency. I suppose they don't want to hear from outsiders. :)
 
bearkilr said:
I'm not sure how much info you're going to get from other areas of Canada, I don't know of any other province/territory that has an overpopulation of moose, other than areas of southern SK as of late. It's quite the contrary in most places actually.
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I'm familiar in a general sense with the health of moose populations in other provinces and territories, but what I am interested in - especially - is hunters' opinions of what they like or do not like about how moose is managed in their particular area.

As a side note, I tried completing the survey, but it ends abruptly after I click my province of residency. I suppose they don't want to hear from outsiders. :)
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I did not realize that. Rude, huh.
 
CV32 said:
I'm familiar in a general sense with the health of moose populations in other provinces and territories, but what I am interested in - especially - is hunters' opinions of what they like or do not like about how moose is managed in their particular area.
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Well, then I'll be blunt and honest. There are no effective game management tools in Manitoba due to there being two sets of laws for hunters, those which are licensed and those which require no licenses and don't have to adhere to bag limits or seasons. Sad but true.
 
Actually, the Matane wildlife reserve in Quebec has quite the population. They start to worry when it hits 4 animals per square kilometer. But this is dependent on the quality and availability of food.

It's a lottery to hunt in the reserve, and though I wish my chances were better, I really like the fact that the draw itself is only open to residents (any person can be invited by the winner to join a party regardless of residency). What I'm liking less is that the cost of the packages goes up every year. There are different options, different group sizes, with different quotas, but what it boils down to is that they are selling moose. Back in 2005, that price was $1200 per animal. This season, it had risen to something closer to $4K. Now, I understand that for a trip like this, people are willing to spend big money. But I think it's important to keep it accessible enough so that the average Joe can experience it at least once. I would also be big fan of an all-expense-paid grand prize draw.
 
In Ontario, my complaint has more to do with the tag draw system rather than how they manage the numbers. When you buy a licence you're entitled to hunt calf moose only, bull or cow tags are by a lottery system. The system is heavily biased towards "party" hunting, with individuals or small groups having little chance at drawing an adult tag, depending on the management unit.
 
9.3mauser said:
The system is heavily biased towards "party" hunting, with individuals or small groups having little chance at drawing an adult tag, depending on the management unit.
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We stopped applying as a group since there is no longer any group 'guaranteed tag' in our WMU. None of the 8 of us got an individual tag this year. 'Course, this is the year we see moose all over the place. WMU 41 / Ontario.
 
dzastins said:
We stopped applying as a group since there is no longer any group 'guaranteed tag' in our WMU. None of the 8 of us got an individual tag this year. 'Course, this is the year we see moose all over the place. WMU 41 / Ontario.
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Even without a guarantee, you are better off applying as a group. 78% of tags go to groups in the group draw, 5% to northern residents, 17% to individuals. Any group that doesnt draw a tag, goes into the individual draw anyway. By not applying as a group, you are opting out of 78% of the tags.

Far from a perfect system, but give yourself the best chance. My father in law drew a group tag this year, in an area with no guarantee, and only 3 guys in the group.
 
An over-the-counter calf tag in ON blows my mind...

Here in Alberta and for the most partmoose management itself is OK...mangement of the habitat that moose call home is very poor.

I agree with bearkilr...it's pretty laughable that we are told the populations are being managed when there is an aboriginal "harvest" that nobody can attach a semi-accurate number to...but that is natural mortality I am told...
 
Big Jon said:
An over-the-counter calf tag in ON blows my mind...

Here in Alberta and for the most partmoose management itself is OK...mangement of the habitat that moose call home is very poor.

I agree with bearkilr...it's pretty laughable that we are told the populations are being managed when there is an aboriginal "harvest" that nobody can attach a semi-accurate number to...but that is natural mortality I am told...
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One year in our area the report was that 16 were killed in a single winter yard. Hunting was pretty dry for a few years after that.
 
Same things going on here in Cape Breton.
I had a conversation this spring with the moose bio for DNR, how the hell are they suppost to manage a resource when they have no idea how many are being taken? We've got hundreds of kms of logging rds that are being hunted on day and night from shortly after the snow goes till the snow comes. It's disgusting
 
How many more moose could hunters actually shoot in a year in NFLD? Considering that the average density of moose in Gros Morne is equal to the highest density in ON and the highest density in Gros Morne is ~5x that I'm guessing you have enough moose to make considering a cull resonable.
Maybe its time to check on the price for non resident moose hunting in NFLD????
 
In Newfoundland there are more than enough people applying for licenses to keep a check on the population. The problem is, what the province has determined to be the acceptable population. An over abundance of moose has been such common place for so long, that it has become a norm.
 
I've hunted both Ontario as a resident and Alberta as a non-resident for the past 12 years.
The Ontario system is based very heavily on the idea of party hunting, where the group hunts collectively for the tags they have. There is no need to register as a party or maintain others license numbers. This contributes to relatively successful hunts. In ontario we pay the full price for our license when we enter the draw each spring and the MNR allows us to harvest calves in any open zone. The adult tags are specific to the zone you applied into. The downfall of this system is the calf harvest, if a group of 10 guys gets a bull tag and they see three calves they take them and I don't blame them. I shot a calf this year (and his daddy). However we as hunters should recognize the inherent danger to the sustainability of the herd by harvesting calves. Each of those calves is the future of the entire herd.
In Alberta we pay a nominal fee to enter the draw, if you are successful then you pay for your license when you gey your tag. There is no party hunting for moose in Alberta, a hunter can have a "partner" added to his tag and the two of them can hunt cooperatively for the moose. There is a fee for this option, both hunters are identified as being partners. In my opinion Alberta does a very good and proactive job of managing their moose herd typically. I really enjoy the hunts there as we see several moose in our week. I believe that Alberta hands out more tags than Ontario but due to the nature of the groups hunting the success per tag is lower than Ontario. Alberta regulates the hunting of "antlerless" moose better than Ontario so there are way more huntable moose than Ontario.
As was stated previously in the thread, unless there is an identifiable need to reduce the moose numbers we should be very cautious of culls or excessive harvests. I'd like to be able to take my kids and grandkids moose hunting someday so lets try and keep the herd numbers up.
Hope this helps.
 
Survey Done! NL hunters, please pass on the survey link to all your hunting buddies. We have to make our voices heard in favour of wildlife managers doing what they are payed to do and sustainable moose hunting.
 
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