Main new hunting measures

The general sport hunting rules are updated and published every two years. This section presents the main new measures that came into force for the period from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2028.

With the implementation of the online hunting licence sales system, certain adjustments must be made. From now on, for any game species that requires the attachment of a transportation tag, it will be mandatory to affix on the animal, in an indelible and legible manner, the unique transportation tag number. You may do so by printing the transportation tags attached to your digital licence and protecting them from the weather, by writing your unique tag number directly on the animal or on any other medium, and attaching it to the animal. If you have a paper licence purchased from a licence vendor, you may attach the transportation tag included with it.

Beginning in fall 2026, the Ministère will associate the calf with the female under the designation “moose without antlers” (MWA) in the regulations. This change will apply throughout the province.

In certain hunting zones, a new “moose without antlers” hunting licence will be required to hunt this segment. To obtain this licence, hunters will have to take part in the draw and be selected. The MWA licence will be valid for the territory of a zone, a subzone, a zec or a wildlife reserve. The hunter must also hold the regular moose hunting licence in addition to the MWA licence. Hunters may still purchase annually, without a draw, their regular “Any-zone Moose” hunting licence, which authorizes the harvest of an adult male moose in the hunting zone selected at the time of purchase.

The MWA licence may be shared among members of a hunting party. An authorization from the licence holder must be provided to the hunters with whom they agree to share their licence.

Certain moose hunting periods and certain hunting implements have been modified. Among other things, the periods specific to muzzle-loading firearms have been removed.

The sale of natural moose urine is now prohibited, as is the case for all other cervids.

For more information, consult the section Hunting seasons for moose.

In the following ZECs, the annual bag limit for moose is 1 moose for every 3 hunters:

Anse-Saint-Jean, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Borgia, Bras-Coupé-Désert, Buteux-Bas-Saguenay, Casault, Chapais, de la Bessonne, de la Croche, des Martres, des Nymphes, du Chapeau-de-Paille, Jeannotte, Kiskissink, Lac-au-Sable, Lesueur, Louise-Gosford, Maganasipi, Mitchinamécus, Pontiac, Rapides-des-Joachims, de la Rivière-Blanche, Saint-Patrice et Tawachiche.

The certificate of successful completion of the wild turkey hunting training will no longer be mandatory to hunt wild turkey.

For more information, consult the section Hunting seasons for wild turkeys.

Certain rules, periods or hunting implements for white-tailed deer have been modified, including:

• Opening of deer hunting in zone 18;
• Less restrictive hunting rules in zone 27 West;
• The possibility of harvesting two deer in the same zone extended to zones 4, 5 East, 5 West, 6 North, 6 South, 7 South, 8 East, 8 North and 8 South, conditional upon harvesting only one adult male.

For more information, consult the section Hunting seasons for white-tailed deer.

Certain fall periods or certain hunting implements for bear hunting have been modified to maintain synchronization with cervid hunting periods.

For more information, consult the section Hunting seasons for black bear.

Certain periods or certain hunting implements for small game hunting have been modified.

For more information, consult the section Hunting seasons for small game.

The small game hunting licence for hunting with a bird of prey will no longer be available. To hunt with a bird of prey, only the small game hunting licence will be required. The other rules governing this practice remain unchanged.