- Location
- Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
To people in provinces other then Saskatchewan, do you have any provincial laws that make it illegal to shoot does or cows (moose or Elk) that have young with them?
Regulations on shooting Antlerless game?
- Thread starter Frontier Firearms
- Start date
I have hunted ungulates in NB, NS, ON & BC and never heard of such a law. Spring bear is a different matter though!
Considering that the regs typically just read 'antlerless' and nothing more you can shoot the adult female or the offspring that is with it if the season includes antlerless animals where you are.
Considering that the regs typically just read 'antlerless' and nothing more you can shoot the adult female or the offspring that is with it if the season includes antlerless animals where you are.
Here in Ontario "antlerless" covers exactly that. Any deer without antlers can be affixed with an antlerless tag. our camp shoots fawns but i know of many that don't. As for moose we have cow tags and calf tags. everyone that buys a moose liscence (not positive about non-residents) in ontario is issued a calf tag, you then enter the bull and cow draw.
Bulls and cows only for elk.
Bulls and cows only for elk.
Not in Alberta or anywhere else that I'm aware of other than bears and cougars of course.
Pathfinder
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Northeast Ontario
No official regulation that know of here....unofficial in a lot of camps.
Note for Moose the calf never gets left behind as there is always a lot calf tags around amoungst hunting gangs and its the best meat going.
Though it is technically legal to in BC, for most species there is a line in the regs that requests the fawn/calf to be harvested rather than the mother (At the very least for moose).
As mentioned bear is a different story and so is mountain goat.
tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
It's not illegal to shoot a doe with fawns in Ontario but I tend to take the smallest (weakest) fawn if I'm going to shoot one.
- Location
- Saskatchewan
I am not aware of any regulation that allows a hunter to take antlerless animals that also specifies that a female with young cannot legally be taken. But commons sense conservation would dictate that it is far better to take the young animal and not the breeding female - unless of course there is a problem with severe overpopulation. I normally target fawns/calves when hunting deer or elk antlerless season.
Every hunter knows that and I'm sure you do, by killing a cow with its calf, there are big chances that the calf won't make it past the winter. Anyone who doesn't care and still do it to "fill their tags" are morons and many many people here will support me on that, by doing so you've just killed 2 animals instead of one. If you can, shoot the calf that way the cow will still be around the next year.
I have morals because I don't NEED to fill my tag, I hunt because I enjoy it and if a can shoot an animal well that's even better!
Suka
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I suspect you'd find in the near total number of hunts common sense would dictate the decision. Barring the odd idiot that's managed to fool natural selection I'd like to think anyone who buys a tag will act according to his or her own best judgement concerning a doe/cow harvest.
Fortunately the far left of the spectrum doesn't hunt, so regs don't have to include things like tying your shoes before you leave, not intentionally crapping in your own pants, and making decisions about wether or not to shoot a legal animal.
Fortunately the far left of the spectrum doesn't hunt, so regs don't have to include things like tying your shoes before you leave, not intentionally crapping in your own pants, and making decisions about wether or not to shoot a legal animal.
If you are saying that harvest rates are based on the average hunter, then you just nailed it. Kill calves/fawns, don't kill them, it doesn't matter at the herd level since as this thread shows there are as many who do as don't and this creates the harvest rates that managers use.
Its like the Sierra Club buying hunting licences to 'burn' them. I hope every member buys one for the rest of their life!! Wildlife gets the extra funds this year. Next year the harvest rate is crazy low so managers issue more tags to increase subscription and we are back to the start again. Continue for eternity.......
Back to choosing a cow/calf based on survival. There are two main events that lead to decreased calf (moose in general) survival in winter. Warm winters lead to increased tick loads. Snowy winters lead to higher predation rates by canids. Neither can be mitigated by having a mother to protect you.
Not having to wait a couple years until the calf is mature and can have calves of her own is the only downside to choosing a cow over her calf.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
some zones in Alberta have calf moose only draws so you can't shoot the cows.
If you shoot the doe the fawn will be less likely to survive
Harvesting an animal has nothing to do with morals. If the season is open and you have an appropriate tag, there is nothing wrong with taking a mature animal with that tag. Many hunters will pass on cows or does with calves, or choose a calf, but if there is a season there are usually no population issues to worry about. I think I have way more issue with someone who shoots just for trophies and wastes meat, rather than someone who harvests does. I have shot does with fawns in the past but now I tend to be a bit more selective because my family hunts and we don't need to fill 12 tags. The last thing we need is hunters attacking other hunters over their hunting choices, the antis are doing a good enough job on their own without our help!
