Killing a big game animal inadvertently

While it is the responsibility of the hunter to correctly identify the animal at which he is shooting or to make sure that the members of the same moose hunting expedition or group can communicate with one another when one of them shoots an animal, each year, during the hunting season and following an identification error or the incorrect interpretation of a situation, hunters inadvertently kill big game animals.

The most frequently encountered cases are listed below:

• a hunter kills more animals than the authorized bag limit;
• a hunter kills an antlerless white-tailed deer, an adult moose cow or a moose calf when he is not authorized to do so;
• hunters participating in the same expedition kill more moose than the bag limit;
• during a limited-access hunting activity in a wildlife reserve, the hunters of the same group kill more moose than the authorized bag limit.

Here are the conditions implemented by the department to deal with these cases in order to make hunters more accountable and to clearly separate cases involving poaching. Consequently, when a hunter inadvertently kills a big game animal and he respects the aforementioned conditions, he will benefit from a presumption of due diligence, and his case will be handled in a non-legal manner.

1. When the big game animal inadvertently killed is an antlerless white-tailed deer or a moose cow or calf, whose hunting is prohibited or for which the hunter is not the holder of a special licence issued by computer draw, he must immediately detach the transportation coupon from his hunting licence, affix it to the animal and stop hunting the species in question, as his licence is no longer valid.
   In the case of a moose, the hunter does not have to make sure that the stipulated number of additional transportation coupons is affixed to the animal on the day that it is killed. The Department does not want to penalize the other members of the expedition or group for this inadvertent kill. However, this moose hunting expedition will come to an end if the required minimum number of persons is no longer met. A new expedition may be formed with new persons to continue hunting. In the case of a group of hunters in a wildlife sanctuary, hunting by the other members must cease immediately if the number of persons required to form a group is no longer met.
2. The hunter must also take the necessary steps to not abandon or waste the edible meat of the animal, by eviscerating it, storing it and transporting it adequately until it is registered with a wildlife protection officer.
3. the hunter must register the animal with a wildlife protection officer. For this purpose, the hunter should contact a wildlife protection officer without delay at the nearest Wildlife Protection Office or by contacting S.O.S. Poaching at 1 800 463-2191.
4. At the time of registration, he must surrender the animal to the wildlife protection officer.

However, cases of poaching that ensue from voluntary or irresponsible behaviors on the part of hunters will be investigated by wildlife protection officers and will be treated in a legal manner, as stipulated in the Act. Cases of accidental kills such as, for example, killing two animals with a single bullet, will be treated in accordance with the provisions stated on the page Accidental bagging, page 22.