Your outfitter will be the primary contact and source of information before and during your outdoor adventure in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our outfitters are experienced and can answer your questions. The information below will give you an overview of important contacts and information on regulations.
If you have any questions regarding your trip, or your hunting experience, please click here to get contact information for one of our many outfitters.
Hunting for big game, small game, or migratory birds may take place only within the designated seasons. You must have the appropriate licence and an Outdoor Identification Card, or the equivalent document showing proof of completing a hunter education course, issued in the jurisdiction where you live. You must show your licence or Outdoor Identification Card to a Conservation Officer who asks to see it. The daily and seasonal bag limits must be respected. Your rifle must be packaged when travelling during the closed season, unless you have a permit to carry firearms and ammunition during the closed season. Your hunting rifle must not be a .22-calibre rifle; it must fire ammunition with a bullet weight of at least 100 grains and a muzzle energy of at least 1,500 foot-pounds. A pump or auto-loading shotgun is illegal unless the magazine is plugged in a way that limits it to two shells. Hunting with an automatic rifle is illegal. You cannot transport a loaded firearm or fire a gun from any aircraft, automobile, ATV, or snowmobile, nor can you fire a gun from or across any public or private road, railway bed, highway, within 1,000 metres/3,280 feet of a school, playground, or athletic field, or within 300 metres/985 feet of a dwelling. Hunting hours are from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Night hunting with lights is not permitted. The use of aircraft to track or spot game is prohibited.
Non-resident big game licences for bear, moose, and caribou are available only through outfitters. Interested hunters should contact the outfitter of their choice to determine the availability of licences and obtain the required forms. Non-resident big game hunters must be accompanied by a licenced guide, provided by the outfitter as part of the package.
The guide to hunter ratio must be 1 : 1 or 1 : 2. You must be 18 years of age or older by August 31 in the year to apply for a big game licence. Dogs may not be used to hunt big game. A longbow or compound bow is permitted, provided it has at least 20 kilograms of pull at full draw, and the arrow is tipped with a metal hunting head with two or more sharpened cutting edges. Crossbows are not permitted. It is illegal to shoot or molest a big game animal while it is swimming. The holder of a male-only licence must leave the scrotum attached to one hindquarter as proof of sex. The holder of a female-only licence must retain the head as proof of sex. Metal tags issued with the big game licence are to be affixed to each quarter (between tendon and bone) before it is moved from the hunting site, and must remain with the meat until it is consumed. The licence return and any unused tags must be returned to the Inland Fish and Wildlife Division either within 7 days of the kill or 7 days of the end of the open season. Every successful moose or caribou hunter must send the animal’s lower jaw to the Inland Fish and Wildlife Division.
For more information on hunting regulations, please visit www.gov.nl.ca/env/wildlife/.
Non-resident small game (ptarmigan, grouse, hares, and waterfowl) hunters do not require a guide, but must have the required small game licence, and possess equivalent proof of a hunter education course.
licences for ptarmigan, grouse, and hare are available at Government Service Centres and at many retailers throughout the province. A list of Government Service Centres can be found online at www.gs.gov.nl.ca/locations.stm.
Firearms regulations in Canada differ considerably from those in the U.S. and other countries. Big game hunters coming to Canada should have no problems – provided you understand and follow the rules. You must be 18 years of age or older. At your point of entry into Canada, simply declare your non-restricted rifles and shotguns to Customs (see below for restricted and prohibited weapons). You will have to fill out a Non-Resident Firearms Declaration form and have the declaration confirmed by a Customs officer. You must sign the form in the officer’s presence, but you can fill out the other details before you leave home if you download the form from the Canadian Firearms Centre website or obtain a copy from a licenced outfitter. The signed form acts as a 60-day temporary licence, and can be renewed any time within a year of the date it was issued.
If you want to borrow a firearm while in Canada, you can obtain a Temporary Firearms Borrowing licence for nonresidents. Or you can be under the direct supervision of an adult who has a valid Canadian Firearms licence, or have a valid Possession and Acquisition licence or Firearms Acquisition Certificate.
Restricted and prohibited firearms cannot be used to hunt in Canada. These include handguns, fully-automatic firearms, a rifle or shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18 inches (457 mm) and overall length less than 26 inches (660 mm), and a semi-automatic with a barrel less than 18.5 inches (470 mm) long.
For more detailed information and copies of the required forms, go to the Canadian Firearms Centre website at www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca or call the centre at: 800-731-4000 U.S. or 506-624-5380 (other countries). The necessary forms can also be obtained at Canadian Tourism and Customs offices.
There’s a special bowhunt season for moose, caribou, and black bear during a two-week period just prior to the start of the rifle hunting season. You can use a longbow or compound bow.
You can bring dogs to the province for small game hunting, and they can be moved between Newfoundland and Labrador.
A new hunting program for coyotes was introduced in 2002. They can be taken in season with either a big game or small game licence. The number taken must be reported to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and any carcasses delivered to a DNR office. For more information, visit www.gov.nl.ca/env/wildlife/publications.htm.
Migratory Game Bird Permits are available only through Canada Post Corporation Offices. The season dates for migratory birds can be found at the Inland Fish & Wildlife website or the Canadian Wildlife Service website.
Migratory game birds are managed by the Federal Government under the Migratory Game Birds Convention Act. For complete information on this Act and the regulations, contact the Canadian Wildlife Service: Tel: 709-772-5585 Web: www.cws.ca.
Your outfitter can help arrange for the export of game from Newfoundland and Labrador, which requires a permit. The export of bear parts from Canada requires a CITES permit. |
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