Re: small game hunting changes....?

[greatwhite]

OK I see now closes for March 31, I thought you meant forever. I don't have an issue with that.

[JBen]

lol!!!

[welsh]

New small game regs have been posted on EBR. Will dig up a link and post asap. Meanwhile, the upshot:

• regs will be as proposed in earlier EBR posting, except for the following points
• NO OPEN SEASON for snapping turtles
• Ruffed Grouse bag/possession is 5/15 in WMU 68, 73-76, 82-84
• Pheasant bag/possession is 3/10
• a couple of other things.

Probably the reason the OFAH sent the notice.

Very good news on the phez front. Also good on the grouse, seems we will keep the bag limits we have except where grouse are in big trouble. Some will be upset about the turtles.

Not April fooling here.

Here is the EBR posting:
https://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-Ex...tusId=MjAwNjQw

[punkrockerpj]

how do you really enforce a regulation that is not written in the books?
until i see it on the mnrf website, i find it hard to take seriously. no doubt a decision was made, but the credibility to really doll out a fine for not being aware of it just makes no sense to me.
good intention but poorly executed, given the old men who don't tweet, think facebook is a crock and live by the rule of printed text.

[greatwhite]

I suspect it will be in the 2017 regulations when they come out.

how do you really enforce a regulation that is not written in the books?
until i see it on the mnrf website, i find it hard to take seriously. no doubt a decision was made, but the credibility to really doll out a fine for not being aware of it just makes no sense to me.
good intention but poorly executed, given the old men who don't tweet, think facebook is a crock and live by the rule of printed text.

[Jayardia]

I've been struggling to find more info about this; the rationale behind the decision to curtail the varying/snowshoe hare season in the area I live in (NWO) doesn't seem to make sense.

I've left a message with a local C.O., they've been great about returning my calls...I'd love to get their perspective on it...especially their inclination to enforce it- (between now and June 15) -while the "information" is generally unavailable.

The CO I bumped into (while hunting hares) in February was quite happy to know I was hunting hares. "Great- We need more people hunting hares", he said.

I'll find out as much as I can when I chat with them again.

IMG_0844.jpg

[welsh]

I expect COs will not enforce this with much zeal until the new regs booklet is out. A JP might well toss charges against a hunter who swears up and down he didn't know, while waving the published regs summary containing the old regs.

[JBen]

So turns it out was last minute changes. As mentioned neither scenario was good. It was hard to imagine ofah emailing something like that as some form of April fools. Equally hard to imagine the MNR pulling a fast one (but it wouldn't be the first time).

COs may or may not enforce this, to me thats not the point. While they very likely mightn't theres nothing saying it may not get tacked on to some other small infraction or large. Who here wants to chance it? Is that the recommendation? Ah, don't worry about, go hunt them, no CO will charge you...So at the end of the day at the last minute anyone that had plans for the coming weeks, anyone that might have booked days off, or travel arrangements ( say a 3 day hunt somewhere, etc)...

"ignorance is no excuse"

When making decisions like these, it's not hard to write provisions, that make it clear, for the balance of this season........

[Jayardia]

Post deleted--
(bad information).

[welsh]

Just got a return call from a local CO (Rick LeBlanc) who said (paraphrased): these are recommendations that are being misread/misrepresented as official changes. And while we may see those changes coming up for the next season, they're certainly NOT official yet... he agreed that such an abrupt change would've been utterly "ridiculous". He told me specifically to keep hunting varying/snowshoe hares in this zone until June 15th.

Fantastic!

So this reinforces what I've always figured-- if your confused, --call your local CO's.

... and hope your CO is up to date.

Here is the regulation now in effect; see Table 9.
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/980670#BK9

I think it's good that your local CO (at least) isn't planning to charge anyone under a regulation passed partway through the season. But it's not true that these are "recommendations." The regs change is in effect as of April 1.

That matters ... if someone in some other WMU takes your word for it that he can hunt 'til June.

Looks like the MNR has made an utter mess of this. Half the world convinced it's an April Fools' joke, and their own COs not informed the regs changes have been made and this is no longer a proposal.