Turkey_hunting

Jeff Green | Apr 26, 2007

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Safe, responsible turkey hunting

The Ontario Conservation Officers Association (OCOA) wants to wish all of Ontario’s wild turkey hunters a safe, enjoyable, and successful hunt. The wild turkey season in Ontario opens on April 25 and runs until May 31. Since the re-introduction of wild turkeys to southern Ontario close to 20 years ago, the popularity of turkey hunting has grown as quickly as the turkey population itself. Wild turkeys are now found throughout most of southern Ontario, and populations are steadily increasing and expanding.

All hunters must be sure they know who owns the area they wish to hunt, and that they obtain permission from all landowners prior to the hunt. There are other regulations specific to turkey hunting to ensure a safe hunt, as well as to maintain sustainable populations of birds: hunters must complete a wild turkey hunting seminar and pass a written test before being eligible to purchase a licence; only two licences may be purchased by each hunter per year; all birds must be sealed at the time of the kill; party hunting is not allowed; and hunters may only hunt from one half hour before sunrise until 7:00 PM. A change for this year is the telephone harvest reporting. There are no more check stations; instead hunters must report their harvest by calling 1-800-288-1155 no later than noon the day after their turkey was harvested.

The OCOA encourages hunters to contact their local CO if they have any questions about the regulations regarding turkey hunting. Anyone who observes illegal hunting activity is asked to help COs protect our natural resources by calling the MNR’s violation reporting line at 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667), or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).