Remove antler restrictions for moose LEH

The public is invited to comment on the proposed hunting regulation described below.

Status: Proposed

Region: 7B

Management unit (MU): 7-19 to 7-22, 7-31 to 7-35, 7-44 to 7-49, 7-55, 7-56, 7-58

Regulation type: Limited Entry Hunting

Species: Moose

Closing date: 16:30, March 22, 2024

Decision statement: Pending

Current regulation

Species	Season Type	MUs	Class	Season Dates	Bag Limit
Moose	LEH	719 – 722, 731-735, 744-749, 755, 756, 758	Bull (Spike-fork, tri-palm, or 10-point)	Sept 1-15	1
				Sept 16-30
				Oct 16-Oct 24 & Oct 27-31
				Nov 1-9 & Nov 12-15

Proposed regulation

Species	Season Type	MUs	Class	Season Dates	Bag Limit
Moose	LEH	719 – 722, 731-735, 744-749, 755, 756, 758	Bull	Sept 1-15	1
				Sept 16-30
				Oct 16-Oct 24 & Oct 27-31
				Nov 1-9 & Nov 12-15

Rationale

The hunting regulatory structure for Region 7B was restructured for the 2022 hunting season to reduce the number of licensed hunters within the region to no more than 3,500, and the number of moose harvested by licensed hunters to 646. Both targets represent 50% of recent hunter numbers and moose kills for the region.

In order to help achieve these objectives, MUs 7-19 to 7-22, 7-31 to 7-35, 7-44 to 7-49, 7-55, 7-56, 7-58 were put on LEH along with a Spike-fork, tri-palm or 10-point (SOFT10) antler restriction.

As a result of these changes, there are the following concerns:

• Hunters in Region 7B may not achieve harvest objectives outlined in 2022
  • Hunters in Region 7B are not able to achieve harvest objectives, given that there are restrictions for moose in many MUs of Region 7B (e.g., LEH, antler restrictions, and 2 week LEH opportunities)

• Hunters shifting effort to different species or different regions within the North area
  • With decreased opportunities to harvest moose, hunters may hunt in other regions within the North Area where GOS still exists
  • Hunters may also transfer effort from moose to other ungulate species within Region 7B

• Increased resources needed to enforce the regulatory changes
  • The addition of an antler restriction requires more time for COS and wildlife staff to enforce and check on compliance of each harvested bull moose.
• Concerns around the potential for unreported non-compliance of an antler restriction
  • Indigenous communities and other hunter organisations have expressed concern about the possibility of unreported non-compliance to the antler restriction which could result in meat wastage and higher harvest rates than what is being reported.
  • The spike bull and 2-point season may place additional harvest pressure on young bulls impacting recruitment into the breeding age classes (Anderson et al. 2023).
  • Furthermore, many First Nations in the area have expressed concerns that the SOFT10 antler restriction may place too much of an emphasis on mature bulls and young bulls, the former of which are important for breeding cows.
  • Distributing harvest across all bull moose age classes may allow younger bulls to enter the breeding age classes and reduce harvest pressure on the mature bulls, addressing the perspective that licensed hunters are trophy hunting.

The removal of the SOFT10 antler restriction increases success for hunters that receive a LEH authorization for these MUs, while reducing resource needs to enforce the season and the risk of animals not meeting the requirement being left in the field.

Additional information