Hunting times

Hunting of all species (except those listed below) is permitted from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

For information on sunrise and sunset times, use the dedicated function on a GPS device or see the Canadian government’s sunrise/sunset calculator  (tabulated in Eastern Standard Time).

Exceptions apply to the following types of hunting:

Wild turkey hunting: wild turkey hunting starts 30 minutes before sunrise and ends at midday.

Snaring of hares and eastern cottontail rabbits: no rules governing hunting times.

Frog hunting: no rules governing hunting times.

Hunting raccoons with dogs in zones 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8: you may hunt at night if you comply with certain rules.

Night is defined as the period from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise. The following activities are prohibited at night:

• using a spotlight, a reflector or a light, night vision or thermal imaging device to detect the presence of big game in a place frequented by it or to hunt;
• at night, in an area where game is present, being in possession of a loaded firearm or an air rifle or an armed crossbow without a reasonable excuse, unless you are engaged in a permitted hunting activity.
• A person in possession of a spotlight and a firearm, crossbow or bow in a place frequented by big game is, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, presumed to be hunting at night.
• This presumption of hunting at night is valid within an hour and a half after sunset and an hour and a half before sunrise.