Small Game Licence

[Rule 303]

Since I retired and moved to an agricultural rural setting with hundreds of acres of vacant land, I have, for the last 2 years, shot varmints on my property.

Using a semi auto .22, I've dispatched skunks, porkies, groundhogs, crows(West Nile carriers), and a couple of rabbits. Since there are no by laws regarding discharge of firearms, I thought all was well.

Last night, at our monthly Sportsman's Association meeting, I asked a former MNR CO about the requirement for a Small Game License. (Triggered by a reference elsewhere on this Forum).

He told me in no uncertain terms that what I was doing was hunting and that I needed such a licence; violation of which could lead to dire consequences.

After Googling this issue, I think I've come up with what I have to do in order to stay legal:

...do the Hunter Ed course

...obtain an Outdoors Card

...apply for Small Game Licence.

Is this right? Do I have my legal ducks in a row? Why do I have to jump through these hoops in order to control varmints on my own private property? Why do I have to do Hunter Ed which probably covers most of the stuff in the CFSC course?

Why, why, why?

Any MNR/CO or other knowlegeable person that can advise?

 

[kirill]

Hunters ed will cover a lot more than CFSC. it will cover bow safety and many hunting regulations.

Why? Because the intention is to easily catch and charge poachers.

 

[Claybuster]

Excerpted from the Ontario hunting regulation manual:

"Protection of Property

Generally, you may on your own land, capture, kill or harass wildlife to stop that wildlife from damaging your property. This does not apply to moose, caribou, elk, endangered species or the trapping of black bear. White-tailed deer may be killed or harassed with an authorization from the ministry. You may also use an agent if the agent is authorized by the ministry or belongs to a class of agents prescribed by the Regulations. There are exceptions to this. Contact an MNR office for further information. Black bears killed in protection of property must be immediately reported to an MNR office."

Contact the local MNR office and see what they have to say. FWIW, I'm in somewhat similar situation but already had a small game licence which I keep current to be on the safe side.

The Ontario Hunter Safety Course is more detailed in both the written and practical. It covers areas not included in the CFSC course including game indentification, gun handling in the field, bow hunting and other subjects. Actually of the two courses, I enjoyed the hunter's course more and got more out of it.