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Hunting

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The Parliament – Ottawa City – Canada
1: A ‘no ban’ plan   It may seem counterproductive to the government’s agenda but banning firearms by model or type has been the means, not the stated end goal of these policies. It is supposed to be for public safety. Bans aren’t a prerequisite for enhanced public safety, and a ‘no ban plan’ was
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White-tailed deer buck in rut in the forest
Big changes are coming for hunters who participate in Ontario’s controlled deer hunt program. In 2023, the provincial government has committed to a host of changes that include new timelines around the application period and draw results, along with new dates for when additional tags and farmer and landowner validations will be available. According to
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Premier Doug Ford and his entire pre-election cabinet  — at least those who ran —  are returning to Queen’s Park, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see some changes in the look and feel of his executive council.   Elections create an opportunity for change, even when the incumbent political party is re-elected. A post-election
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Girl Fishing, Hooked for Life Kids Fishing Clinic & Derby (3) – A. Miehls, GLFC w PERMISSION Kollien
OFAH staff are in Ottawa today (May 30, 2022) for Great Lakes Day. In-person events on Parliament Hill have been all but non-existent throughout the pandemic, so this represents one of the first opportunities to return and engage Parliamentarians on key issues. While that might sound boring to some, these types of events are needed
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Flying Geese (DT- Alexey Stiop)
It is safe to say that we are all pretty fatigued by the topic of disease. In addition to human impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, new and ongoing research has shown that multiple mammal species can become infected with the virus and spread it, including white-tailed deer. Beyond COVID-19, in the fall of 2021 we
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Field hunting
Just before midnight on January 19, 2022, Council for the Town of Grimsby repealed their recently revised discharge of firearms by-law, reverting to an older version (by-law No. 20-62) which now prohibits the discharge of all firearms, including bows within their boundaries (also includes paintball, airgun and slingshots).   For decades, the OFAH has led
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White Tailed Deer Bucks (DT-Michael Shake)
Update: two new studies published in February 2022 provided additional insight into the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in deer and the potential risk to hunters. As part of our commitment to keeping our members informed on this evolving issue, we have updated this article to reflect this new information.    The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines,
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The sport of archery does not care about your age, size, or athletic ability. It truly is what many would call a “universal sport”.   Educators are always looking for new ways to enrich the lives of their students and it can often be a significant challenge for schools to find activities that every student
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Attention elementary teachers across Ontario – our new Conservation Crates are officially ready to borrow! Thanks to funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation Resilient Communities Fund grant, we’ve assembled a total of 20 brand new crates, filled with hands-on resources and curriculum-linked lesson plans. They are free to borrow through the OFAH|Mario Cortelluci Hunting and
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Six tom turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) with tail fans spread out in fall.
The OFAH was a driving force in the reintroduction of wild turkey to Ontario in the 1980s and has advocated for expanding hunting opportunities ever since.   The reintroduction of wild turkey has been a huge success and proves how restoration efforts can have extremely positive outcomes for biodiversity and our hunting heritage. Ontario’s first
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Wild Deer In The Colorado Great Outdoors – White-tailed Deer Buc
Every Wednesday, the OFAH Catch the Ace winner’s announcement tells a story about people like you – kind and caring supporters of nature and our outdoors way of life.   It’s a story that underscores outstanding loyalty!   In both CTA series, about 60 lucky winners so far have shared their wonderfully diverse outdoors backgrounds
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The COVID-19 pandemic seriously impacted and even wiped out many field programs run by conservation agencies and non-government organizations like the OFAH.   That said, one positive outcome that arose from this upheaval has been a re-evaluation of our internships, which were originally created to provide early career opportunities for young conservationists coming out of
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Orange is often the first colour that comes to mind when people think of hunting. But there’s another colour just as important to many hunters, though for very different reasons.   It’s yellow. No, really, it’s yellow.   Let me explain.   You see, there is a map that is published twice a year –
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For me, my grouse gun has always been a hinge action Remington 28-gauge or Cooey .410. My go-to turkey gun has always been a pump-action Remington 870 Express 12-gauge. In recent years, I use a semi-automatic Browning Gold Hunter 12-gauge decked out in marsh camo for waterfowl. The gun I take to the deer woods
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The Parliament – Ottawa City – Canada
The OFAH released a report this week titled: What Firearms Are Reasonable and Proportionate for Hunting in Canada. This wasn’t something that came out of the blue, and it certainly didn’t come together overnight. It was 15 months in the making, but it has been needed for decades. Recently, I swore three affidavits that were
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Across Canada, on the third Saturday of September, our great outdoor traditions are saluted with an official “Day.”   That Day is National Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing Heritage Day.   In the outdoors community, everyday is Heritage Day. Indeed, this particular national Heritage Day unites those who fish, hunt and trap, but it was also
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Parliament Of Canada In The Canadian Capital City Of Ottawa Onta
Conventional wisdom may say it’s taboo to talk about politics, but it has such an influence on fishing and hunting that, for us, it’s hard to ignore ahead of the September 20, 2021 federal election. A lot has changed around us since the last election, but our priorities for fishing, hunting, and broader conservation remain
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White-tailed deer buck in rut in the forest
In late June, the Ontario government announced a cabinet shuffle that resulted in profound changes for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Out went incumbent minister John Yakabuski and in came Greg Rickford, MPP for Kenora Rainy-River. But it wasn’t a straight swap. While Minister Yakabuski had a singular portfolio with a sole focus
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Outside of pandemic years, the OFAH staff grows significantly every summer, often with more than two dozen students, interns, or seasonal staff hired for our programs like the Invading Species Awareness Program (ISAP), Tackleshare, Get Outdoors summer camps, and the OFAH|Mario Cortelucci Hunting and Fishing Heritage Centre.   ISAP actually hires many students hosted by
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Moose walking through the river in the fall
On June 15th, 2021, the second chance allocation stage for moose opened. We’re seeing plenty of questions from hunters across the province about the process and how it works, so below we’ve laid out what you need to know about how to navigate this stage of the new moose tag process.   WHAT ARE THE
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UPDATE: Crown land camping and Ontario Parks camping will re-open as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, June 11, 2021. The prohibition on Crown land camping is one of the few remaining barriers for people wanting to get out fishing and hunting right now. If you fish and hunt solely in southern Ontario, the needle on your
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A beautiful landscape of the nature
May 22nd is the International Day for Biodiversity and this year also kicks off May long weekend; a time when Turkey hunters are wrapping up their spring season, spring bear hunters are in the thick of it, and many anglers are planning fishing trips. This year’s biodiversity day theme is “we’re part of the solution” and during a weekend when many of us
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A lone large Black Bear
May 1st marked the full return of the spring bear hunt in Ontario. While the immediate benefits to bear management, bear hunters and northern businesses and communities are obvious, there is a much bigger picture to consider behind the saga of Ontario’s spring bear hunt. At its core, this is about what drives wildlife management decisions in Ontario.  The rebound of wildlife populations across North America from
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Count sleeps, don’t lose them! Let’s count down the sleeps until turkey, trout and bear openers instead of losing sleeps over the stress and worry about a spring without these traditions. The OFAH understands. You’ve had every right to be agitated and anxious. We have some good news. A year ago, the Covid-19 closure question was looming
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hunter man creeping in swamp during hunting period
UPDATES   On May 3, 2021, the Province announced it will be hiring 25 new conservation officers in Ontario.  Click here to read a letter we sent on March 25 to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, John Yakabuski, regarding the situation.   ORIGINAL POST — MARCH 22, 2021   In grad school, I
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Andrea_HunterEd_online
Compared to most Ontario hunter education instructors, I am a newbie, only having taught the program for five years. But in that time, I have learned a lot about people, about their learning needs and how to adapt my teaching to students of varying ages and experiences. When COVID-19 hit, all in-person courses were halted
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News of a coyote hunting contest sparked backlash from animal activist groups, including attempts to discredit legal hunting and trapping of coyotes. The OFAH debunks some of the myths about coyote contests and hunting.

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The OFAH delivered testimony on why fishing and hunting can and should be invested in as a critical sector in Ontario’s social and economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

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The OFAH has confirmed with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) that they will not be preventing hunters who failed to complete a 2020 mandatory hunter report from purchasing licences in 2021. This is welcomed news to hunters who received non-compliance notices from the MNRF starting last spring when wild turkey and spring
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On a September weekend in 2018, I was attending the After The Shot workshop put on by OFAH Zone G in order to provide a talk on deer behaviour. Also at the event was Dr. Joe Wilson, an OFAH Provincial Director-at-Large, and he was delivering a talk on wildlife disease. One of the diseases he
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Bull-Moose-(DT—Wendy-Nero)_sm
The OFAH is always pushing the MNRF to invest in moose science  and, if necessary, we’ll roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves. We’ve been very clear that we want the MNRF to take a whole-ecosystem approach to moose management. This means considering all the factors that influence moose populations. Harvest by Indigenous and
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Deer hunters have played a critical role in CWD (chronic wasting disease) surveillance since 2002.  The deer head samples provided by hunters are key to identifying potential cases of CWD in Ontario.   So far, no CWD has been detected in the province, but the disease has come dangerously close.  In 2018, CWD was confirmed on
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Have you ever been challenged by someone who doesn’t believe hunting contributes to conservation? Most hunters are well prepared to answer by pointing out how licence fees directly fund wildlife management or our history of volunteerism for projects like the restoration of elk and wild turkey in Ontario. But there’s another role we play that
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On June 29th, 2020, the OFAH sent the following letter shown below to Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Dear Premier Ford: SUBJECT: Using Fishing and Hunting for Economic Stimulus and Recovery The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) is Ontario’s largest non-profit, fish and wildlife conservation organization, representing 100,000 members, supporters and subscribers, and 725
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Fishing, hunting, and forestry continue to be mired by public perception based on historical actions and modern misinformation campaigns aiming to keep us there. It isn’t fair, but it’s a reality we face every day. We don’t want to be responsible for the sins of our forefathers. What people don’t like about our activities often
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On May 1, 2020 the OFAH sent the following letter shown below to Ontario Premier Doug Ford Dear Premier Ford: Subject: Reopening Ontario for Outdoor Recreation after COVID-19 The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) is Ontario’s largest, non-profit, fish and wildlife conservation-based organization, representing 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 725 member clubs.
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On Saturday September 16, 9 newly-licensed young hunters experienced their first waterfowl hunt at Tiny Marsh near Elmvale.  This event is an OFAH initiative that provides young hunters with an opportunity to practice their hunting and outdoor skills a week before the regular waterfowl season opens.  Licensed adult hunters mentor the youth and pass on
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Flying-Geese-(DT–Alexey-Stiop)
This past fall, the OFAH surveyed goose hunters to get their insight on a September 1st opener for Canadian Geese in the central hunting district.  Of the 117 goose hunters that completed the survey, 88% were in full support of a September 1 opening date for geese in their district.  Many respondents also suggested increasing
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Moose walking through the river in the fall
The government’s connection to northerners, conservation-leaders and hunting license-fee contributors appears to be dropping lower than the odds of drawing a moose tag. Faster than you can say “tag cuts,” the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) will lose another few thousand customers. Meanwhile, northerners will continue to wait for government to fully address
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Hunting - OFAH Insider