Can a person accompany a hunter without hunting license in Ontario?
- Thread starter cz1997
- Start date
When I checked a few years ago in Manitoba, you needed to be licensed to “participate” in a hunt. If you were right next to the licenced hunter you were “observing”, but if you weee walking some distance away (covering even slightly different ground) you were “participating”. Pretty easy to end up on the wrong side of that if anyone decided to take issue...
Chances are these rules vary by jurisdiction, year, and what you’re hunting, so best to check the regs!
Chances are these rules vary by jurisdiction, year, and what you’re hunting, so best to check the regs!
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Times have apparently changed. I think I was 10 or 11 the first time I pushed bush for whitetail for my Dad and the guys he hunted with. Stayed in the truck for a couple years prior to that. First had my son and daughter out with me for prairie chickens when they 8 or 9; for deer when they were 10 or 11. They both took their Hunter Safety Course when they turned 12. That was in Saskatchewan. I would never have thought it was an issue until this thread came along...
Cameron SS
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ground Zero
The Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act says A) you need a license to hunt, and B) defines hunting as: "lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of, pursuing, chasing or shooting at wildlife," and to paraphrase, it doesn't matter who eventually kills the animal, or if the animal was even killed, so long as there was intent to kill it.
The general consensus is that to participate in the hunt in any way, he must be licensed. The case law on the issue is limited, but generally you need a license to hunt, and hunting in any way is interpreted broadly to include deploying decoys, managing calls, scouting, etc. Anything that aids the guy with the gun is generally considered to also be hunting.
If a CO finds him holding a pair of binos scouting the tree line, then he is hunting and is in trouble if he doesn't have a license. If your brother is completely not doing anything hunting related then you MIGHT be fine. Even if he could register for a hunter safety course that takes place afterwards, you would have something to offer the CO that demonstrates your intent to comply with the law. That's often good enough, but thats you begging for discretion.
Other provinces are more lenient, but in Ontario, they are pretty clear that if you are going on a hunting trip, sitting in a blind, looking out for animals etc, You need a license.
The general consensus is that to participate in the hunt in any way, he must be licensed. The case law on the issue is limited, but generally you need a license to hunt, and hunting in any way is interpreted broadly to include deploying decoys, managing calls, scouting, etc. Anything that aids the guy with the gun is generally considered to also be hunting.
If a CO finds him holding a pair of binos scouting the tree line, then he is hunting and is in trouble if he doesn't have a license. If your brother is completely not doing anything hunting related then you MIGHT be fine. Even if he could register for a hunter safety course that takes place afterwards, you would have something to offer the CO that demonstrates your intent to comply with the law. That's often good enough, but thats you begging for discretion.
Other provinces are more lenient, but in Ontario, they are pretty clear that if you are going on a hunting trip, sitting in a blind, looking out for animals etc, You need a license.
Doors of Perception
CGN Regular
- Location
- Burlington, Ontario
Give him a camera. He is now a photographer not a hunter.
Crazy. In nova scotia i can take some one hunting with me no issues. There can only be one rifle between the 2 of us though. He can even make the shot as long as i have the tags with me. Thats how people can take their kids hunting, friends and family.
Normaly nova scotia has strict dumb hunting/fire arm lawsm im surprised to see ontario has a worse one.
Normaly nova scotia has strict dumb hunting/fire arm lawsm im surprised to see ontario has a worse one.
Trimmer 905
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
In Ontario,an unlicensed person is absolutely allowed to accompany a licensed hunter in the field providing that they aren't actively participating in the hunt in any way. That means they may not "spot" for game or carry gear for the hunter.
- Location
- West Quebec
That's pretty clear now how many just ignore the rules, I guess a conservation officer decides what will happen
Cameron SS
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ground Zero
IF no one is hunting, then a bird watcher will never be accused of hunting. A nature beside a hunter is going to look like a hunter by default, and will have a very difficult time overcoming the presumption on the part of a CO that a person sitting in a ground blind holding a pair of binos is NOT in fact participating in the hunt.
Yes, they may not spot. This includes with the naked eye ball. Unless your plan is look at your feet the whole time, its pretty hard to law in a ground blind beside a hunter and not look around.
They may not transport gear. Operate calls. Set up equipment. The law doesn't address post hunting activities, but one could argue that you can't clean or carry game either.
They can not track or pursue game. As one other poster mentioned, taking a different route through the woods could be construed as searching separately for evidence. So it would be best to literally follow in the foot steps of the hunter.
It may very well be possible to attend a hunt without actually doing anything that would get you in trouble with the law, but this would be such a tedious and boring experience, why bother?
To be fair, I think most COs would be pretty lenient if you went out of your way to not participate in the hunt, but the OP isn't asking for a prediction on the COs use of discretion, he is asking for the law. And in this case the law is pretty clear.
My wife has been known to accompany me when the weather isn’t terrible. She will bring a book and just sit in the blind with me on a turkey hunt...We have also party hunted with other couples and the non-hunting spouses will just hang back at camp. Encountered CO’s more than once and never have they been concerned - it’s pretty obvious by her demeanour that she is not hunting...just keeping me company and enjoying the outdoors. It probably doesn’t help my success rate but I enjoy it for what it is.
- Location
- West Quebec
I would like to see that as well, is it different from province to province?
Yes. Each province has it's own hunting-related law(s) and regulations. (Except for migratory birds; in addition to each respective province's rules, the Government of Canada also regulates migratory birds.) In Nova Scotia, it's the Nova Scotia Wildlife Act and Regulations.
Runningfool
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
My goodness, let’s apply a little common sense here. Being present with a licensed hunter and looking around is observing a hunt, not participating in it. No need to stare at your feet in a blind...seeing game isn’t a crime, just don’t point it out to your hunting buddy cause then you’d be participating.
According to the law, there is no distinction between a lone bird watcher or a bird watcher sitting next to a licensed hunter - both could theoretically be charged by a CO according to the law, and just as likely.
I’m sure any of us would be hard-pressed to find a CO that didn’t encourage licensed hunters to bring out friends and family who are interested in hunting, just so long as they are spectating of course and not actively participating. If the charge is hunting without a licence, the distinction between a passive spectator and an active participant is pretty obvious.
