Ontario Trapping Regulations Summary

Source law

Trapping

The following trapping activities are not allowed under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• trapping furbearing mammals except under the authority of a licence (farmers or any member of the farmer’s family who resides with the farmer may trap on their own land without a licence, but require a licence to sell pelts)
• hunting, trapping or possessing any furbearing mammals within the limits of a provincial park or a crown game preserve, except as provided by reguIations
• trapping furbearing mammals on lands other than those designated on the licence
• trapping furbearing mammals in excess of the quotas specified on the licence
• trapping less than 75% of the quota of beaver fixed by the licence
• using poison or adhesive to take, kill or attempt to take or kill any furbearing mammal

Body-gripping and leg-hold traps

• It is illegal for any person to possess or use an operable body-gripping trap ^{footnote 1[1]} except a licensed trapper or a person who has been licensed as a trapper in the past five years or a farmer or any member of the farmer’s family who resides with the farmer on the farmer’s property. However, under the authority of a resident small game licence, any person may take varying (snowshoe) hare using snares made of 22 to 24 gauge copper or brass wire with a loop no bigger than 10 centimetres in diameter, in the area north of the French and Mattawa Rivers.
• It is illegal for any person to:
  • use traps with hooks or teeth, spring pole sets (except with killing traps), dead falls or to set leg-hold traps in trees or on poles
  • set leg-hold traps for beaver, otter, mink or muskrat unless the trap is set under ice, or it is attached to a sliding lock or a heavy object and set in such a manner that the captured animal would be immediately submerged and prevented from resurfacing. This does not apply to a leg-hold trap set for mink or muskrat if the trap will submerge the animal in water immediately upon springing the trap or the trap is heavy enough to prevent it from resurfacing
  • use a leg-hold trap with a jaw spread greater than 18 centimeters (7.09 inches) when set on land and 21 centimeters (8.27 inches) when set in water, except where a person is using a certified trap for trapping wolves with a jaw spread not exceeding 23 centimeters (9.06 inches)
  • to use a body-gripping trap (including a leg hold trap) that is not a certified trap, where the use of such a certified trap is required by the regulations
  • use a body-gripping trap with a jaw spread greater than 22 centimetres (8.66 inches) in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 60 to 95, except as part of an in-water set used for trapping beaver or otter
  • use a Conibear 110 or similar body-gripping trap of equivalent or less killing power, except when the trap is a certified trap set for muskrat or weasel, or the trap is set for mink in a manner that the captured animal will be submerged immediately upon springing of the trap and prevented from resurfacing
  • use a leg-hold trap to trap fisher, marten, opossum, skunk, or weasel
  • trap wolf or coyote using a leg-hold trap that has two planar steel jaws less than 9 millimetres (⅜ inch) in thickness which come into contact with one another over their full length when the trap is sprung
  • trap a species of fox using a leg-hold trap unless the trap is smaller than a Number 3 or a trap other than a trap that has two planar steel jaws less than 9 millimetres (⅜ inch) in thickness which come into contact with one another over their full length when the trap is sprung
  • use a leg-hold trap for raccoon other than a leg-hold trap certified for trapping raccoon
  • use a leg-hold trap for lynx and bobcat other than a leg-hold trap certified for trapping lynx and bobcat
  • trap black bears except with foot snares, box or cuIvert traps
  • attach a leg-hold trap with a chain, wire or cable, or a combination thereof whose total length exceeds 31 centimetres (12.2 inches) for free play from the leg-hold trap to the object it is attached to, or in the case where the object to which it is attached is below ground, the 31 centimetres shall be measured from ground level to the leg-hold trap (there is no restriction on chain length when drags are used)
• A person may use a leg-hold trap to catch red squirrels provided the trap is enclosed and set so as to kill the captured animal upon springing of the trap.
• A person shall inspect at least once daily every live-holding trap set by him or her in that part of Ontario south of the most northerly east-west line of the Canadian National Railway Company.

Suspended snares

The following trapping activities are not allowed under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• using suspended snares, except relaxing cable restraints following the rules described for that device, on land for any purpose in:
  • the counties of Brant, Bruce, Dufferin, Dundas, Elgin, Essex, Frontenac (except the townships of Barrie, Bedford, Clarendon and Miller, Hinchinbrooke, Kennebec, Olden, Oso and Palmerston and North and South Canonto), Glengarry, Grenville, Grey, Haldimand, Huron, Kent, Lambton, Lanark (except the townships of Darling, Lavant and Pakenham), Lennox and Addington (except those parts lying north of the geographic township of Camden East), Middlesex, Norfolk, Northumberland, Oxford, Perth, Peterborough (except the townships of Anstruther, Burleigh, Cavendish, Chandos, Galway, Harvey and Methuen), Prescott, Prince Edward, Russell, Simcoe, Stormont and Wellington
  • the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York
  • the cities of Hamilton, Kawartha Lakes (except the townships of Carden, Dalton, Digby, Laxton, Longford and Somerville), Ottawa and Toronto
• using suspended snares, including relaxing cable restraints, on land for any purpose during the open season for deer, except where no dogs are permitted during the season for deer in:
  • the counties of Haliburton, Hastings and Renfrew
  • those parts of the county of Lennox and Addington lying north of the geographic township of Camden East
  • the townships of Barrie, Bedford, Clarendon and Miller, Hinchinbrooke, Kennebec, Olden, Oso and Palmerston and North and South Canonto in the county of Frontenac; Darling, Lavant and Pakenham in the county of Lanark; and Anstruther, Burleigh, Cavendish, Chandos, Galway, Harvey and Methuen in the county of Peterborough
  • Carden, Dalton, Digby, Laxton, Longford and Somerville in the city of Kawartha Lakes
  • the District Municipality of Muskoka
  • the territorial districts of Manitoulin, Nipissing and Parry Sound
  • those parts of the territorial districts of Algoma, Sudbury and Timiskaming lying south of a line which runs approximately from Haileybury westward through Westree to the shore of Agawa Bay on Lake Superior and mapped in the plan entitled "Suspended Snare Trapping Regulation Plan" filed with the Office of the Surveyor General of Ontario in the ministry, and available from the ministry

Note: It is contrary to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 to trap an animal, except a rabbit or a red squirrel, using a suspended snare unless a snare lock or other device is used in such a manner that the noose is prevented from expanding or the snare is a relaxing cable restraint (RCR) that complies with rules and specifications described for RCRs.

Relaxing cable restraints (RCRs)

The regulations associated with the use of RCRs are established under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997. The rules are intended to support the use of RCRs by licensed trappers and farmers to address livestock predation concerns from coyote and wolf, while reducing incidental capture of non-target species and improving animal welfare of animals captured in RCRs.

The regulations for use of relaxing cable restraints include:

• RCRs may only be used by licensed trappers and farmers
• RCRs may only be used to target coyote and wolf
• RCRs are permitted for use by farmers in protection of their property on a year-round-basis for coyote/ wolf
• RCRs are permitted for use by licensed trappers in protection of property situations, or during the open trapping season (except during deer seasons in southern, central and parts of northern Ontario where dogs are generally permitted for use while hunting deer)
• RCRs must be set on land and must not be set in a manner that allows a captured animal to reach a waterbody, or to reach any part of a fence, rooted woody vegetation, or other object in which an animal may become entangled
• RCRs must not be set in a manner such that a captured animal would be suspended with its feet off the ground
• springs, counter-balanced weights, powered mechanisms or other similar devices may not be used to operate the RCR
• RCRs must be checked on a daily basis
• trappers must have written permission from the landowner when trapping on private property
• all coyotes or wolves killed in protection of property in WMUs 1 to 42, 46 to 50, and 53 to 58 must be immediately reported to the local ministry office. Submitting a Notice of Possession form through the ministry Registry is required if the person intends to keep the carcass for personal use

The specifications for constructing a relaxing cable restraint include:

• RCRs must have a relaxing lock mechanism that allows the cable loop to loosen when pressure is released
• RCRs must be made of a cable consisting of galvanized multi-strand steel which is 3/32 inch or larger in diameter
• RCRs must have two cable stops set in a manner such that the cable loop cannot expand to be larger than 30 centimetres in diameter and cannot restrict to be smaller than 8.9 centimetres in diameter
• the cable must not exceed 1.5 metres in length from the anchor point to the relaxing lock, when the cable loop is fully closed at its minimum position
• RCRs must have at least two swivel devices which allow for 360° rotation between the loop and the anchor, with one swivel device located at the anchor point
• RCRs must have a breakaway device affixed at the relaxing lock that is rated at 122.5 kilograms or less

Best Management Practices for Use of Relaxing Cable Restraints in Ontario (PDF) is available online or by contacting the Ontario Fur Managers Federation office.

Possession, buying and selling

Buying and selling

The following activities are not allowed under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• buying, selling or dealing commercially in the pelts of furbearing mammals, except under the authority of a licence
• tanning, dressing or treating furbearing mammals or their pelts for commercial purposes except under the authority of a licence. A trapper may, without a fur dealer’s licence, tan, pluck or treat a pelt harvested under their licence, or otherwise lawfully acquired, and sell the pelt
• buying, selling or bartering any game wildlife (including furbearing mammals) or their parts for commercial purposes, except under the authority of a licence and as permitted by the regulations. Note: A trapping licence or farmer’s licence to sell pelts and carcasses is authority to sell meat of furbearing mammals taken under the authority of the licence. Bear meat may not be sold
• selling the meat of furbearing mammals for human consumption by a person other than the buyer or their immediate family
• selling the meat of furbearing mammals for human consumption without advising the purchaser in writing that it has not been inspected under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001
• allowing the flesh of any game mammal, game bird, game amphibian or game reptile suitable for food to be spoiled or abandoned

Wildlife in captivity

The following activities are not allowed under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• hunting or trapping a furbearing mammal, except under the authority of a trapping licence:
  • in the wild state for the purpose of transfer to a farm on which furbearers are raised in captivity for the purpose of commercial propagation
  • for transfer and sale of red fox or coyote to the operator of a train and trial area
• keeping live furbearing mammals in captivity except under the authority of a licence and in accordance with the regulations for commercial purposes (such as keeping furbearing mammals in a licensed zoo)

Pelt possession

The following activities are not allowed under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• possessing the pelt of any furbearing mammal trapped in Ontario during the closed season except under the authority of a Licence to Possess a Pelt
• a holder of a trapper’s licence possessing the pelt of an otter captured out of season unless the person:
  • incidentally kills the otter while lawfully trapping beaver during the open season for beaver despite exercise of all due diligence
  • records the incidentally killed otter on the season-end harvest report required within 24 hours of the close of the relevant open season for beaver
• allowing the pelt or any furbearing mammal to be abandoned or allow it to be spoiled or destroyed unless the pelt is of no commercial value

Exporting

The following activities are not allowed under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• exporting from Ontario, any furbearing mammal or the pelt, without a licence authorizing such exportation and without payment of applicable royalty, except:
  • the pelt of any furbearing mammal bred on a fur farm
  • pelts imported into Ontario, when proof of origin is produced when applying for a licence to export
• using containers for the transportation, into or out of Ontario, of pelts of furbearing mammals unless there is plainly marked on the outside a description of the contents and the name and address of the consignee and consignor. A hunter or trapper who accompanies pelts taken under his or her licence is exempt

Harvest reporting

The following activities are not allowed the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• failing to record, within 24 hours of the close of the season, on the Mandatory Season-End Harvest Report issued with the licence, the quantity of each species of furbearing mammal and/or black bear harvested under each trapping licence held by the individual
• failing to submit a Mandatory Season-End Harvest Report by June 10 to the address indicated on the report identifying the quantity of each species of furbearing mammal and/or black bear harvested, sold (or shipped to be sold), and remaining in their possession under the authority of a trapping licence(s)

For more information about how to complete your Mandatory Season-End Harvest Report refer to the instructions on the report. These reports should be submitted directly to the issuing organization (Ontario Fur Managers Federation or applicable Provincial Treaty Organization). If you have any further questions, contact your local ministry work centre.

Hunting furbearers and black bear

• A trapping licence is valid for hunting raccoon at night in the area designated on the licence as long as the trapper is accompanied by a dog licensed for the purpose of hunting and the trapper uses only a rim-fire rifle. You may shine a light for hunting raccoon at night if the light is not attached to or shone from a vehicle or boat.
• The harvest of bear cubs and female bears accompanied by a cub is prohibited during the spring season. A person shall release any black bear cub, or a female black bear accompanied by a cub that is trapped by the person in May or June.
• A person shall not trap or hunt a black bear within 400 metres of a waste disposal site. Note: There are restrictions related to bait placement for bear hunting, please visit: Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary
• The holder of a trapping licence, hunting wildlife during a gun season for deer, elk or moose, is required to wear a garment in hunter orange and a head cover in hunter orange. In addition, the holder of a trapping licence, hunting for black bear during the open season for black bear that is not a gun season for deer, elk or moose, is required to wear hunter orange except when in a tree stand.

Licences

Applying for a trapping licence

Persons applying for their first trapping licence, or those who have not held a trapping licence the past five years, are required to complete the Fur Harvest Fur Management and Conservation Course.

These courses are delivered by ministry appointed instructors. Students are required to purchase the Fur Harvest Fur Management and Conservation Course manual. Following completion of the course, each student will be subjected to a written and practical field examination.

Individuals wishing to take the course should contact the Ontario Fur Managers Federation or local Ministry of Natural Resources office. Individuals who are already licensed as trappers but have not taken the course are encouraged to do so as are persons who are interested in furbearing mammals and their management but do not intend to apply for a trapping licence.

Obtaining trapping licences and registered traplines

Applications for new trapping licences are authorized by the ministry. The ministry allocates registered traplines to licensed trappers as vacancies occur, and according to set policy direction. Trappers should contact the local ministry work centre for information about vacant trapline opportunities and how to apply. The successful completion of the Fur Harvest Fur Management and Conservation Course does not guarantee a person a registered trapline. Trappers may also apply for authorization to trap on private land under a Registered or Landowner licence.

For information, please contact the Ontario Fur Managers Federation or a local Ministry work centre located in the area where you wish to trap.

Note: The setting of quotas is licence specific. Depending on local conditions, quotas may be set at the time a licence is issued for any furbearing mammal species.

Licence fees (HST included in all fees)

• Trapping licence: $39.55
• Secondary trapping licence (issued as helper on a registered line only): $16.95
• Secondary trapping licence (youth): $16.95

General regulations

The following activities are not allowed under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 and regulations:

• obstructing, hindering, delaying or interfering with a conservation officer in the discharge of their duty
• refusing to produce and show any licence to a conservation officer when requested to do so
• buying, selling, exchanging, transferring or assigning any right, interest or privilege granted or conferred under any licence
• possessing a loaded firearm within eight metres of the travelled portion of a road (or roadside fenceline where one exists) unless the person is on private property and to discharge a firearm from or across a right of way for public vehicular traffic:
  • at any time of year in Brant, Bruce, Chatham-Kent, Dufferin, Durham, Elgin, Essex (except the single-tier municipality of Pelee), Frontenac (except the lower-tier municipalities of Central and North Frontenac), Grey, Haldimand, Halton, Hamilton, Hastings (except the lower-tier municipalities of Bancroft, Carlow/Mayo, Deseronto, Faraday, Hastings Highlands, Limerick, Madoc, Marmora and Lake, Tudor and Cashel and Wollaston), Huron, Kawartha Lakes, Lambton, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, Lennox and Addington (except the lower-tier municipality of Addington Highlands), Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Northumberland, Ottawa, Oxford, Peel, Perth, Peterborough (except the lower-tier municipalities of Galway-Cavendish-Harvey and North Kawartha), Prescott and Russell, Prince Edward, Simcoe, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington, York
  • during an open gun season for deer or elk, in the lower-tier municipalities of Central and North Frontenac in the geographic area of Frontenac, Haliburton, Hastings (except the single-tier municipalities of Belleville and Ouinte West; and the lower-tier municipalities of Centre Hastings, Stirling-Rawdon, Tweed and Tyendinaga),the lower-tier municipality of Addington Highlands in the geographic area of Lennox and Addington, Muskoka, the lower-tier municipalities of Galway-Cavendish-Harvey and North Kawartha in the geographic municipality of Peterborough, Renfrew, the single-tier municipalities of Alberton, Chapple, Dawson, Emo, Fort Frances, La Vallee, Morley, Rainy River and the geographic townships of Morson, McCrosson, Tovell, Dance (excluding Lyons Bay Road and Lost Creek Road), Kingsford (excluding Fleming Road), Miscampbell (excluding Boffin Road), Pratt, Nelles, Spohn and Sutherland all within the Territorial District of Rainy River, and the single-tier municipality of Kenora, geographic townships of Boys, Ewart, Forgie, Gidley, Glass, Gundy, Kirkup, Pellatt and the unorganized area south and east of the geographic township of Boys, south of the geographic township of Pellatt and west of the single-tier municipality of Kenora to the shore of Lake of the Woods all within the Territorial District of Kenora
• discharging a firearm from or across the traveled portion of a right-of-way for public vehicular traffic in any part of Ontario not designated in the reguIations
• having a loaded firearm in or on, or discharging a firearm from an aircraft, vehicle or motorboat (including a snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle)
• cause unnecessary suffering to an animal harassed, captured or killed in protection of property. For more information about protection of property visit: Harass, capture or kill a wild animal damaging private property.
• using firearms at night by licensed trappers or farmers for humane dispatch of lawfully trapped furbearing mammals is permitted, subject to the following conditions:
  • the only firearm permitted for this purpose is a rim-fire rifle
  • the person must keep the firearm encased and unloaded until in the immediate vicinity of a lawfully trapped furbearer to be dispatched; the firearm must be unloaded and encased immediately following dispatch of the trapped furbearer

Wildlife Management Unit boundaries

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For more detailed maps of Wildlife Management Units visit: Find a wildlife management unit (WMU) map.

Seasons

Open seasons

Notes:

• all dates are inclusive
• refer to the map for area descriptions
• refer to the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary for black bear open season and regulations

Wolf and coyote hunting and trapping season closures

Image

Enlarge map.

Wolf and coyote Seasons

Note: A person who kills a black bear anywhere in the province, or a wolf or coyote in WMUs 1-10, 11A, 11B, 12-42, 46-50 or 53-58, in protection of property, must immediately report having done so to a ministry office unless the person reports the acquisition of the carcass by submitting a Notice of Possession.

Related links

• Trapping in Ontario
• Protect your dog from wildlife traps
• Small game and furbearing mammals in Ontario