More deer tags for hunters this fall

Ken Johnston

Deer hunters and drivers will be happy with the news that the Ministry of Natural Resources has put new regulations in place to allow hunters in Northwestern Ontario to take as many as six deer this fall.
Area MNR biologist and member of the Provincial Deer Technical Committee, John Vandenbroeck, said the regs. were passed on Friday that will, “Give us a new tool to better manage deer populations when they are in abundance.”
Several mild winters and lack of snow have allowed the deer numbers to explode. Previously MNR had tools to manage the population when they were down. The new rules will allow MNR to evaluate the conditions annually and if the deer are in abundance in one Wildlife Management Unit MNR can, at the local level, choose to issue more deer tags for that area. Vandenbroeck said Monday, “Pretty much all of Northwestern Ontario will be getting additional opportunities.”
Currently the application system is in high gear for the regular antlerless tag draw. The deadline for applying for those tags is June 30th.
However, separate from the regular system, MNR will be offering all licensed hunters from last year the opportunity to apply for additional tags in WMUs across the region. That will begin on Aug. 9th and end on Aug. 22nd and will be a second tag for an antlerless deer. Vandenbroeck said that MNR has established quotas for the regions WMUs and if they are all filled from the 9th to 22nd there will be no need to offer another opportunity to hunters. However, if they are not met in that first period then another window will be opened from Aug. 23rd to the 31st.
“The first window is to ensure that all hunters are given an equal opportunity to get an extra tag,” explained Vandenbroeck. If all the tags are not taken by hunters in that first window then the field will be opened right up to all resident hunters, regardless of whether they have one or two tags already. A hunter could end up being allowed to take up to a maximum of six deer this hunting season but can only take two from any one WMU.
Vandenbroeck said that the new regs. are unique in that MNR can easily turn them on and off from season to season. “Many jurisdictions in North America are reevaluating the way they manage deer and Ontario is no different.”
The new opportunities for hunters are available only to residents of the region and focus only on antlerless deer (does, male and female fawns).
In addition to the exploding deer populations, Vandenbroeck said that there is a need to balance harvest ratios. Many hunters prefer to take a big buck over a smaller doe. The new tags will likely help balance that as well as help reduce the population. Each tag will cost the hunter $34.
All licensed hunters from last year will be receiving information on the new opportunities in the next several weeks via the mail. Applications for the second and possibly up to six tags will be done over the phone using an interactive voice recognition system on a first come first served basis. Any remaining tags after Aug. 31st will issued at the district managing the relative WMU beginning Sept. 1st.
If the system works there should be a significant reduction in the deer population this fall and hopefully less deer-car collisions.