I looked into a similar topic a few years back when a friend suggested I hunt deer in his large backyard in Scarborough, near the Bluffs. My investigation revealed the following : if you check the Ontario hunting regulations you will find that Toronto has its own wildlife Management Unit (WMU) which permits deer hunting with archery equipment. Presumably other types of hunting would be treated similarly. Checking with by law department I discovered that while hunting is not specifically prohibited in the City, the discharge of firearms is prohibited. Archery and air guns are defined as firearms; remember that these are municipal definitions, not provincial or federal. The interesting thing is that Toronto currently (for the past decade) has been harmonizing by laws- for example North York might have a bylaw permitting 2 dogs per household, East York no limit, Etobicoke 6 etc etc. Same applies to the no discharge of firearms bylaw. Rosedale is part of the original City of Toronto, this would have to be specifically examined, Checking with the MNR, I was advised that if you had a provincial archery license to hunt deer for Toronto, were hunting on private property, and the deer remained on the private property after being arrowed, you MIGHT be OK; otherwise the courts would have to sort it out. Rest assured that the Emergency Task Force (ETF) will be called out it you are seen or the deer (or other animal) strays off your property. I have never taken a deer with my bow that dropped on the spot, so the potential problems did not seem worth the risk. I hope this is helpful.
