Mandatory Ontario Hunters Report

dmcdam said:
It has the deadline on the website portal but I think it was January 14th. Don't quote me on that though.
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Yeah, I think that is correct.

I may have made a good faith mistake. I figured that since my wife and I had both filled our tags, we wouldn't hunt any more this year, so we submitted our reports. Now, a friend asked me to take him out during ML season and show him the ropes. It's not the end of the world, and the information submitted was accurate at the time. I'll have to check to see if I can amend the report.

Update: I just sent the MNRF a FB message suggesting the possibility of amending a report, and also suggesting they collect information collected on trail cams as well.
 
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The best way to collect data IMO and experience is to do what every state in the USA (that I have been fortunate enough to hunt in) does, and that is mandatory checking of all animals killed at a DNR check station.

Usually it is a high school kid at the local gas station. When you stop for gas (and beer) you have the kid check your deer. Takes about 1 minute.
Yes, its a male deer, estimated to be 2 1/2 yrs old. Punch the ear (or attached the metal strap) and see you later.
Don't get caught with a deer that has not been through the station....its easy to tell.

Plus, I have ALWAYS met and spoken with and been checked by DNR officers. Always polite and professional. Almost always at lunch or at dark.
Always shine the flashlight in your eyes at dark (to constrict your pupils so you can't see in the dark) in case you were thinking about doing something stupid...
Always 2 guys together...in case you were thinking about being stupid....

They get a 100% accurate count of all animals killed in the hunt.

Here, we can tell them all kinds of BS, we can have 15 guys see the same deer 15 times and report 225 live deer seen.....yeah, that's helpful data....

I have spoken to a MNR officer exactly 2 times hunting since 1980...
Once was when I was standing on the side of the road after dark (rifle unloaded and cased) waiting for my ride.
He drove up, didnt get out of the truck, asked me if the rifle was unloaded? I said "what do you think?" He drove away

Once was when a guys wife reported us lost because we were real late getting out of the bush
 
Bigbubba said:
The best way to collect data IMO and experience is to do what every state in the USA (that I have been fortunate enough to hunt in) does, and that is mandatory checking of all animals killed at a DNR check station.

Usually it is a high school kid at the local gas station. When you stop for gas (and beer) you have the kid check your deer. Takes about 1 minute.
Yes, its a male deer, estimated to be 2 1/2 yrs old. Punch the ear (or attached the metal strap) and see you later.
Don't get caught with a deer that has not been through the station....its easy to tell.

Plus, I have ALWAYS met and spoken with and been checked by DNR officers. Always polite and professional. Almost always at lunch or at dark.
Always shine the flashlight in your eyes at dark (to constrict your pupils so you can't see in the dark) in case you were thinking about doing something stupid...
Always 2 guys together...in case you were thinking about being stupid....

They get a 100% accurate count of all animals killed in the hunt.

Here, we can tell them all kinds of BS, we can have 15 guys see the same deer 15 times and report 225 live deer seen.....yeah, that's helpful data....

I have spoken to a MNR officer exactly 2 times hunting since 1980...
Once was when I was standing on the side of the road after dark (rifle unloaded and cased) waiting for my ride.
He drove up, didnt get out of the truck, asked me if the rifle was unloaded? I said "what do you think?" He drove away

Once was when a guys wife reported us lost because we were real late getting out of the bush
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That's because they have no budget for enforcement at the MNR. The area each CO has to cover is massive and they still have desk duties as well.
 
Theres no shortage of CO's around here, when I'm out fishing on Lake Simcoe, most weekends you can get stopped and checked up to three times a day. Its happened many times over the years.
 
Magellann said:
Theres no shortage of CO's around here, when I'm out fishing on Lake Simcoe, most weekends you can get stopped and checked up to three times a day. Its happened many times over the years.
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They pull in officers from other areas to blitz high traffic areas like Simcoe. They can only have a significant presence in a handful of places at any given time, so they focus on those close to the GTA.
 
exactly.

Same as this weeks deer hunt on Manitoulin island. Its pretty much the last rifle hunt so every CO will be there.
And there is only one way on and off the island so its check point time for sure...Papieren bitte!!
 
dmcdam said:
That's because they have no budget for enforcement at the MNR. The area each CO has to cover is massive and they still have desk duties as well.
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And that is why in most states any fines from any prosecutions regarding fish and game are a) significant and b) go directly to the DNR, and the money is not pissed away as general tax revenue like it is in ONT
 
northern skies said:
I'd rather not have fines go to enforcement, as a way to avoid more of a "gotcha" culture than there already is.
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I see your point - I guess there's good and bad to every system. Also, you might see a quota system or undue pressure on CO's to increase revenue - becoming reverse salespeople, in a way.
 
northern skies said:
I'd rather not have fines go to enforcement, as a way to avoid more of a "gotcha" culture than there already is.
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the fines do not necessarily go to "enforcement" they go to the DNR budget (so they can hire CO's, they can hire biologists, they can stock lakes, etc)

IMO it is better than getting pissed up against a tree which is where it goes in ON
 
dmcdam said:
They pull in officers from other areas to blitz high traffic areas like Simcoe. They can only have a significant presence in a handful of places at any given time, so they focus on those close to the GTA.
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I get checked all the time on St John. At one point, the CO’s had an office in the OPP headquarters in Orillia (not sure if they still do, but I bet it hasn't changed) which could explain their presence on Simcoe and surrounding lakes
 
Here are the questions I submitted regarding the mandatory report and the replies I got:

Q/ I submitted my deer hunting report for 2019, as I was certain I would not be hunting. However, it is possible I may accompany a friend of mine during the black powder season to show him how to hunt with a muzzle loader. It would be nice if there were a way to amend a report once submitted (I realize I should have waited, but I was quite certain I would not hunt any more this year, and did not want to miss the submission deadline). Another item I think you should look at - when you ask us how many live deer we saw, would it be possible to also ask if we use trail cams and how many deer we saw on the cameras? Could that not provide useful information?

A/ Hi Claude, thank you for your patience and for your input. It has been good to hear from hunters regarding mandatory hunter reporting as this is a newly implemented requirement and part of a new online licensing service. Currently the service doesn’t have the capability to allow hunters to revise their reports but it’s something we would like to explore further in the future. As we prepared for the change to mandatory hunter reporting we reviewed the questions being asked of hunters to ensure they were focused on providing the data required to support management, and it wasn’t a burden to hunters to complete the reports. There was also a need to ensure the data collected could be related to information collected previously. Changes or additions to the questions asked could be considered in the future once the system has been fully implemented for some time and hunters are familiar with the requirements, reporting methods and potential consequences for not reporting.
 
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