These definitions will help you understand what is meant by the terms used in the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary and on this website. Don't see a definition you need? Let us know.
BIG GAME : Includes black bear, white-tailed deer, American elk and moose.
CONTROLLED HUNT : Hunts in which the total number of hunters is restricted. A hunter needs a controlled hunt validation tag to participate in a controlled hunt.
ELK HARVEST AREAS : Numbered portions of a Wildlife Management Unit(s) used for elk harvest management. Wildlife Management Unit and Harvest Area numbers are used in the table for elk open seasons, hunt codes and seal quotas to indicate the relevant area of the province in which an elk seal is valid.
HUNTING : Includes lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of, pursuing, chasing or shooting at wildlife, whether or not the wildlife is killed, injured, captured or harassed. You need a hunting licence to do any of these things, except where the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, states otherwise.
LICENCES, TAGS AND GAME SEALS
ADDITIONAL GAME SEAL : A game seal, purchased in addition to the game seal that comes with the deer or black bear licence, which allows the hunter to harvest an additional animal under certain conditions. An additional game seal is NOT a licence to hunt for the species. A licence tag must be purchased before the additional game seal is valid for use.
E-LICENCE : The e-licence is an instant-use licence that indicates you have purchased an Outdoors Card or a fishing or small game hunting licence on our website. It can be printed and used immediately, but must be carried with a plastic or temporary Outdoors Card to be valid.
GAME SEAL : The seal that must be attached to a moose, elk, deer, wild turkey or black bear and to a wolf and coyote as soon as the animal is killed. The game seal must remain attached to the animal while it is transported.
LICENCE TAG : A tag which, when it accompanies an Outdoors Card, constitutes a licence to hunt wildlife, or a class thereof, specified on the tag.
OUTDOORS CARD : An Outdoors Card is a component of a licence to hunt the wildlife specified on the licence tag when that tag accompanies the card and any applicable paper hunting licences and game seals and/or validation tags.
RECEIPT : A receipt can be printed off following an Outdoors Card or licence purchase on the Internet. This document shows the products you have purchased and the amount you have paid. The receipt is not a licence. You must ensure you print off the e-licence (if you have purchased one) to carry with you in the field. In some cases, such as with the purchase of a deer, moose or turkey licence, a licence will be mailed to you.
VALIDATION TAG OR CERTIFICATE : A tag or certificate which validates a licence to hunt game mammals of a specified number, age or sex or in a specified area.
VALIDATION CERTIFICATE : A validation certificate must be carried by non-resident black bear hunters.
VALIDATION TAG (NON-RESIDENTS) : A moose validation tag must accompany the non-resident hunter’s moose licence.
VALIDATION TAG (RESIDENTS) : A validation tag must be affixed to the front of the game seal to allow resident hunters to hunt adult moose or antlerless deer. In WMUs 48, 55A, 55B, 57 and 65, a specific calf validation tag is required to hunt calf moose. A validation tag is also required to take part in the controlled hunts for deer. A validation tag for a controlled deer hunt must be carried on your person.
Moose and deer licences obtained prior to the draw deadline are validated by the ministry on the game seal itself. They are valid for calf moose or antlered deer in other WMUs except for calf moose in WMUs 48, 55A, 55B and 57, during the regular open season providing the game seal has not been used.
Elk licences are validated by the ministry on the game seal itself, including information about the sex and age of animal that may be harvested, and the WMU and Harvest Area in which it is valid during an open season for elk. It also contains information (licence tag numbers) for the hunters who are permitted to hunt under the
authority of the seal.
MUZZLE-LOADING GUN : A gun that is loaded through the muzzle. A percussion muzzle-loading gun is considered to be loaded if there is a charge of powder and a projectile in the barrel and a percussion cap on the nipple. A flint-lock muzzle-loading gun is considered to be loaded if there is a charge of powder and a projectile in the barrel and the vent is unplugged. An electronic muzzle-loading gun is considered loaded when there is a projectile in the barrel. Also known as a muzzle-loader.
NON-RESIDENT : A person who does not qualify as a resident (see Resident). The ownership of property in Ontario does not qualify a person for a resident's licence.
RESIDENT : An Ontario resident is a person whose primary residence is any part of Ontario and who has actually resided in any part of Ontario for a period of at least six consecutive months during the immediately preceding 12 months. For information on deemed residency for military, RCMP and diplomatic personnel, please call 1-800-667-1940.
SELECTIVE HARVEST SYSTEM : The system that controls the harvest of breeding moose, elk and deer. The harvest of adult moose, elk and antlerless deer is restricted to those who hold the appropriate validation tag, which is obtained through a random draw. The harvest of calf moose in WMUs 48, 55A, 55B and 57 is restricted to those who hold the appropriate validation tag, which is obtained through a random draw.
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT UNITS (WMUs) : Numbered divisions of the province used for wildlife management. WMU numbers are used in the tables for open seasons to indicate the relevant geographic areas of the province. Get maps of WMU boundaries.
