2021 NOVA SCOTIA C:100 M:56 Y:0 K:0 C:5 M:98 Y:100 K:0 C:0 M:16 Y:100 K:0 ! Cover photo by Ursa Major Outfitters Fold and tape closed before mailing. Affix Sufficient Postage Wildlife Division 136 Exhibition Street Kentville Nova Scotia B4N 4E5 ! ! B4N 4E5 4E5 B4N Nova Scotia Nova Kentville 136 Exhibition Street Exhibition 136 Wildlife Division Wildlife Postage Sufficient Affix *Snaring hare with Wildlife Habitat Stamp only. Stamp Habitat Wildlife with hare *Snaring Yartmouth Hants Y H Duck, Unclassified Duck, Victoria Halifax V HX Ruddy Duck Ruddy Shelburne Guysborough S G Surf Scoter Surf Richmond Digby R D White-winged Scoter White-winged Queens Cumberland Q C Common, black Scoter black Common, Pictou Colchester P CO Common Eider Common Lunenburg Breton Cape L CB Long-tailed Duck Long-tailed Kings Antigonish K A Bufflehead Inverness Annapolis I AS Golden-eye (Whistler) Golden-eye Counties Key Counties Ring-necked Duck Ring-necked Very High Very 4 Scaup (Bluebill) Scaup High Snowshoe Hare Snowshoe 3 Wood Duck Wood Medium Pheasants 2 Northern Pintail Northern Low Ruffed Grouse Ruffed 1 Shoveler None Enter County Enter 0 Blue Winged Teal Winged Blue No opinion No N for Upland Game Upland for Green Winged Teal Winged Green Abundance Estimates Key Estimates Abundance Estimates Abundance Wigeon Gadwall *Snaring hare with Wildlife Habitat Stamp only. Stamp Habitat Wildlife with hare *Snaring Black Duck Black Ducks on agricultural land agricultural on Ducks Mallard Ducks in salt marsh salt in Ducks Hooded Merganser Hooded Ducks in salt water salt in Ducks Red-breasted Merganser Red-breasted Ducks in fresh water fresh in Ducks Common Merganser Common Geese Snow Goose Snow Snipe Canada Goose Canada Woodcock Brant Goose Brant Hare (Rabbits - snaring)* - (Rabbits Hare Snipe Hare (Rabbits - snaring) - (Rabbits Hare Woodcock Hare (Rabbits - hunting) - (Rabbits Hare Hare (Rabbits - snared)* - (Rabbits Hare Pheasant Hare (Rabbits - snared) - (Rabbits Hare Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Hare (Rabbits - hunted) - (Rabbits Hare Hours County Hours County Pheasant Species Hunted Species hours hunted in each in hunted hours Ruffed Grouse Ruffed and hunted Counties Enter Qty Qty County County spent hunting each of the following the of each hunting spent Species Hunted Species harvest in each in harvest hours of number the Enter Enter Counties hunted and and hunted Counties Enter Geese Record your harvest here harvest your Record Ducks Wildlife Resources Card #: __ __ __/ __ __ __/ __ __ __/ __/ __ __ __/ __ __ __/ __ __ #: Card Resources Wildlife Woodcock/Snipe Grouse/Pheasant/Hare Email ________________________________________ Email Kill No Kill No Not Hunt Not after your final hunting trip of season. season. of trip hunting final your after Species Hunted Species Hunt with Hunt Did Hunt with with Hunt form completed this mail or novascotia.ca/natr/harvests Check your participation status participation your Check at online Submit 15. March by report to mandatory is It Nova Scotia Small Game and Waterfowl Report Card 2021/22 Card Report Waterfowl and Game Small Scotia Nova ! ! Furharvesters Report Form 2021/22 IMPORTANT: You are required to report by April 15 even if you did not trap. Report online at Enter first 9 digits of your novascotia.ca/natr/harvests or submit this report to the DLF office where licence was purchased. Wildlife Resources Card Number If you held a license but did not trap or snare, check this box. q here __ __ __/ __ __ __/ __ __ __/ Please indicate number of sets, trap nights and animals harvested by County. County County County Species # # Nights Turned # # Nights Turned # # Nights Turned # Set Kept1 # Set Kept1 # Set Kept1 Killed Trapped in2 Killed Trapped in2 Killed Trapped in2 Beaver Muskrat Otter Mink Bobcat4 Fox Racoon Skunk Squirrel Weasel Coyote Lynx3 Marten3 Fisher4 Other (specify) “# Set” means the number of traps/snares set. If you don’t On the basis of your observations, how plentiful do you feel the following have exact numbers, give closest approximation. animals are in the county you spent the most time trapping/snaring? “# Nights Trapped.” If you don’t have exact numbers, give N No opinion 0 None 1 Low closest approximation. 2 Medium 3 High 4 Very High Notes: This data is important to help manage furbearers in Beaver Raccoon Marten Nova Scotia. It will help Biologists to calculate trap nights and catch effort. Muskrat Skunk Fisher 1 “Kept” means: furbearers/pelts you wish to retain in your Otter Squirrel Black Bear possession after April 15 Mink Weasel Snowshoe Hare 2 “Turned In” means: pelts, over the bag limit or accidently caught Bobcat Coyote and turned into DLF office. Fox Lynx 3 Lynx and marten are completely protected in Nova Scotia. Any lynx or marten accidently harvested (or other species captured in excess of bag limits) and which could not be released must be reported on the Accidental Harvest Form and turned in to a Name (please print) ________________________________ local DLF office. 4 Bobcat and fisher are mandatory carcass submissions this year. Email _______________________________________________ This is a summary prepared for the convenience of anyone who plans to hunt or trap in Nova Scotia. Consult the complete copy of the Wildlife Act and Regulations for all purposes of interpreting and applying the law. These laws are subject to change at any time and are available online at novascotia.ca/natr/wildlife/laws/actsregs.asp For detailed information please see our website at novascotia.ca/natr/hunt Report illegal hunting and/or trapping to your local Lands and Forestry Office or call 1-800-565-2224 Honourable Chuck Porter Minister Paul LaFleche Deputy Minister Please help the environment. Recycle this book. 2 Message from the Minister Today, as in the past, hunting and trapping continue to be a valued, safe, and important part of the heritage of Nova Scotia. Currently, approximately 140,000 Nova Scotians have Wildlife Resources Cards which allow them to engage in these and other outdoor activities. Nova Scotia began offering the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman® (BOW) program in 1997, with a primary focus of assisting women in learning outdoor skills associated with hunting, fishing, and other outdoor pursuits. We are pleased to see the number of women becoming involved in these activities continues to rise in our province. Young Nova Scotians are also getting involved in hunting and trapping through mentored programs. For example, the early youth season for hunting deer provides qualified young hunters the opportunity to be introduced to hunting activities, and to gain experience under the direct supervision of experienced adult hunters. Nova Scotians, including hunters and trappers, care deeply about environmental health and the protection of wildlife habitats. Each year hunters and trappers contribute an average of ~$200,000 to the Nova Scotia Habitat Conservation Fund to support biodiversity conservation and research, through the purchase of Wildlife Habitat Stamps. Hunters and trappers also play an important role in effective wildlife management through the reports and biological samples they submit each year, which provide valuable information to inform wildlife management decisions. Hunters throughout the province continue to contribute donated wild meat to Feed Nova Scotia through the Hunters Helping the Hungry Program. These donations have provided over 10,000 servings of quality high protein meals for Nova Scotians in need. As we begin the 2021 season, I remind you to respect the rights of private landowners and to follow current public health guidelines when hunting to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. This booklet provides you with an outline of the fees, bag limits, season dates, a summary of regulations, and other important information for the 2021 hunting season. Please review it carefully. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your local Department of Lands and Forestry office. 3 On behalf of the Department of Lands and Forestry, I wish you a safe and successful hunting and fur-harvesting season. Sincerely, Chuck Porter, Minister of Lands and Forestry Significant Changes for 2021 1. Changes to the weapons legal to hunt bears in moose zones 2, 3, and 4 from September 13th until October 9th, refer to page 32 for the Ministerial Order. 2. After 10 years, we have decided to suspend our voluntary collection of trapped coyotes. We would like to thank all those who submitted animals for this program. 3. The number of antlerless deer stamps have increased in several Deer Management Zones to help control deer populations and to mitigate the spread of a parasitic brainworm that is transmitted from deer to moose, where it can be fatal and impact overall moose herd health. Refer to page 58 for more information on antlerless deer stamps. 4. Bobcat carcasses must be turned in and pelts stamped at the appropriate DLF office. (see Furbearer Specimens To Be Turned In page 45) COVID-19 Nova Scotians need to follow current social distancing guidelines when hunting to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. This means limiting your contact with other people and staying 2 metres (6 feet) away from them, not travelling long distances, adhering to group gathering limits and practising good hygiene. Hunters need to determine if they can hunt within those guidelines. This information is provided as general guidance and is considered accurate as of June 2021. Changes to restrictions continue to evolve. Stay informed by visiting novascotia.ca/ coronavirus/ for the most up to date public heath information before you begin your hunt. This could also affect programs and services offered by the department for this year’s hunt. Check our website novascotia.ca/natr/hunt/ for updates. 4 Attention Nova Scotia Trail Camera Users! You can win one of three top-quality trail cameras by participating in the Deer and Bear Trail Camera Survey and photo competition.