Hunting Without a Small Game Licence in Ontario:

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Last Updated: September 17 2026

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Question:I got a hunting ticket in Ontario for hunting without a Small Game Licence; what should I do next to protect my options?

Answer:If you were charged in Ontario with hunting without a Small Game Licence, don’t panic and don’t miss the deadline on your ticket or summons, because paying is often treated as a guilty plea.  Start by confirming the exact offence wording and section number, then verify whether you actually held a valid Small Game Licence (or a qualifying exception such as apprentice, farmer, licensed trapper, game bird hunting preserve, or protection of property) and whether it was valid for the specific wildlife, date, and location.  Gather your Outdoors Card, licence summary or purchase records, transaction timestamps, and any Conservation Officer notes, and compare them to the category on your set fine schedule.  For Ontario-specific guidance on your defence path and next steps, call (647) 559-3377 to speak with DefendCharges.ca™ paralegals at DefendCharges.ca™.

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Hunting Without a Small Game Licence in Ontario

Received a hunting ticket or summons for Hunting Without a Small Game Licence in Ontario?  You have been charged with a provincial offence under Ontario hunting law.  The charge concerns whether you hunted wildlife that required Small Game Licence authority without holding the required licence or qualifying for a legal exception.

Note: Please contact DefendCharges.ca™ by phone at: (647) 559-3377 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.

Do not panic.  Being charged does not automatically mean you will be convicted.  A Small Game Licence can cover several legal categories of wildlife, so the exact species matters.  The case can also turn on whether a valid licence already existed, whether it was valid on the date and in the area involved, and whether an apprentice, farmer, trapper, game bird hunting preserve, or protection of property rule applied.

This page explains what Hunting Without a Small Game Licence means, what a Small Game Licence covers, how the licence is recorded, what must be proven, the current set fines, evidence that may matter, possible exceptions and defences, and what may happen next.  This offence is part of Small Game & Furbearer Charges.

I Received a Hunting Without a Small Game Licence Ticket or Summons.  What Should I Do?

Read every document carefully and do not miss the response deadline or required court date.  A summons is a court document requiring you to attend court or respond as directed.  Your ticket may not use the page title "Hunting Without a Small Game Licence."  Ontario's set fine schedule instead uses species-category wording such as Resident-hunt game mammal without licence, Resident-hunt game bird without licence, or Resident-hunt furbearing mammal without licence, with corresponding non-resident offences.

Start with the exact offence wording and section number.  Record the wildlife involved, date, location, Wildlife Management Unit if relevant, what you were doing, and what licence records existed before the hunting described in the charge began.  Keep your Outdoors Card, Licence Summary, Small Game Licence purchase records, receipts, transaction timestamps, photographs, messages, GPS information, maps, and documents provided by the Conservation Officer.

Should I Pay the Ticket?

Paying the ticket will generally be treated as pleading guilty and will result in a conviction.  A conviction means a finding of guilt.  Before paying, check whether a valid Small Game Licence existed, whether the activity legally amounted to hunting, whether the wildlife was in a category requiring the licence, and whether a legal exception applied.

A person who held a valid licence but did not have or produce the required document can face a different charge from a person who lacked the underlying licence authority.  The section number on your ticket should therefore be compared with your Ministry licensing records before deciding how to respond.

What Is Hunting Without a Small Game Licence?

Hunting Without a Small Game Licence is the plain English title used on this page for hunting wildlife without the Small Game Licence authority Ontario required in the circumstances.  Ontario does not use one single short form offence called "Hunting Without a Small Game Licence."  Section 6 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 separates licence offences according to the legal category of wildlife involved.

For the Small Game part of Ontario's Hunting Regulation, small game includes game birds, game mammals other than big game, certain furbearing mammals, and some other huntable wildlife.  Examples can include grouse, cottontail, hare, red fox, raccoon, coyote, and wolf.  A furbearing mammal is a mammal Ontario legally classifies as furbearing wildlife.

Under the current Hunting Regulation, a Small Game Licence normally consists of a Licence Summary that identifies the Small Game Licence.  A Licence Summary shows hunting products connected with your licensing account.  If the Small Game Licence is identified directly on an Outdoors Card under the regulation, the card itself constitutes the Small Game Licence.  Otherwise, an Outdoors Card identifies you in Ontario's licensing system but does not by itself provide Small Game Licence authority.

A Small Game Licence does not necessarily provide every additional authority required for every species or method.  Wolf or coyote hunting in a tag management unit can require a Wolf/Coyote Tag, wild turkey requires the applicable Wild Turkey Tag, and migratory game birds require federal authority in addition to the Ontario Small Game Licence.  Other small game and furbearer offences are organized within Small Game & Furbearer Charges.

What If I Had a Valid Small Game Licence but Could Not Produce It?

That can be a different offence from hunting without the required licence.  Ontario separately requires a hunter to carry the required licence or authorization and to produce it to a Conservation Officer when lawfully requested.  If a Small Game Licence was already valid before the hunting began, your Licence Summary, qualifying Outdoors Card record, transaction history, and Ministry records may distinguish a document issue from a no-licence charge.

Can a Small Game Licence Be Invalid at Certain Times or Places?

Yes.  A licence can exist but still not be valid for the particular hunting activity.  Ontario's Hunting Regulation provides that a Small Game Licence is not valid from June 16 through August 31 in parts of Ontario north and west of the prescribed line from Georgian Bay to the Ottawa River, unless the holder is hunting small game with a falconry bird or a non-indigenous falconry bird.  The exact date and location can therefore matter even where Ministry records show a Small Game Licence in your name.

Are There Exceptions to the Small Game Licence Requirement?

Yes, but the exceptions are specific and their conditions matter.  Records supporting the particular exception can be important.

Apprentice Hunters

For the 2026 season, an Ontario resident who is at least 12 but under 15 may hunt without purchasing their own hunting licence if the apprenticeship requirements are met.  These include the required card, direct and immediate supervision by a licensed hunter who is at least 18, hunting only wildlife the supervisor is licensed to hunt, and sharing the single firearm permitted by the rule.

Farmers and Family Members

Section 6 allows a qualifying farmer, or a family member who resides with the farmer, to hunt specified wildlife without a licence during the open season on the farmer's land.  The exception can cover furbearing mammals, game mammals other than big game, and game birds other than wild turkey.  Status, residence, land, species, and season may therefore matter.

Licensed Trappers

A person holding a licence to trap furbearing mammals can, within the area described in the trapping licence and during the periods allowed by law, hunt certain game mammals, game birds other than wild turkey, and other listed wildlife without another hunting licence.  The trapline area, species, date, and open season matter.

Licensed Game Bird Hunting Preserves

Ontario provides a licence exception for specified hunting on a licensed game bird hunting preserve.  Applicable Outdoors Card and hunter accreditation requirements still apply, as does proof of firearm accreditation when hunting with a gun.  Preserve boundaries and species authorization can be important.

Protection of Property

Section 31 can authorize a person to harass, capture, or kill wildlife in limited circumstances to protect property, and the ordinary section 6 licence requirement does not apply where that authority operates.  This is not a general licence free hunting rule: the property threat, location, wildlife, and statutory limits must fit the provision.

What Law Applies?

The principal licence rule is section 6 of Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, together with the Small Game provisions of Ontario Regulation 665/98, the Hunting Regulation.  Section 6 prohibits hunting specified categories of wildlife except under the authority of a licence and in accordance with the regulations, subject to statutory and prescribed exceptions.

The Hunting Regulation identifies what counts as small game for this licensing purpose, describes how a Small Game Licence is recorded, and contains the regional June 16 to August 31 validity restriction.  The exact legal clause on a ticket depends on whether the wildlife is legally a game mammal, game bird, furbearing mammal, or another category covered by section 6.

What Must Be Proven?

The prosecutor, meaning the lawyer or representative presenting the government's case, must prove the required parts of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt.  Beyond a reasonable doubt is the high legal standard that must be met before the court can find you guilty.

For a section 6 hunting licence charge that is being described on this page as Hunting Without a Small Game Licence, the prosecutor will generally need evidence establishing that:

• You were the person involved;
• Your conduct legally amounted to hunting;
• The wildlife involved fell within the legal category identified by the offence provision;
• The conduct occurred on the date and at the location relied upon in the charge; and
• The circumstances were ones in which Ontario's section 6 licence requirement applied.

There are important statutory burden rules.  Section 107 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 places the burden on a defendant who relies on having the required licence, while subsection 47(3) of the Provincial Offences Act generally places the burden on a defendant relying on a prescribed authorization, exception, exemption, or qualification.  Ministry licensing records and documents supporting any exception may therefore be central evidence.  The prosecutor must still prove the offence actually charged.

Ontario also has a proof rule for hunting.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, possession of a firearm, trap, decoy, or other hunting or trapping device in an area usually inhabited by wildlife can be proof that a person was hunting or trapping.  That rule does not automatically prove the remaining requirements of the licence charge.

Does an Animal Have to Be Shot or Killed?

No.  A successful harvest is not required for a hunting without a licence charge.  Ontario defines hunting broadly to include conduct beyond shooting or killing wildlife.

Hunting can include lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of, pursuing, chasing, or shooting at wildlife for a hunting purpose, as well as capturing or harassing wildlife.  Scouting, photography, travel, retrieving property, or merely accompanying another hunter does not automatically amount to hunting, so the purpose of the activity may be important.

What Common Situations Lead to This Charge?

No Small Game Licence Had Been Purchased

The Ministry records may show a valid Outdoors Card but no Small Game Licence in force when the Conservation Officer says the hunting occurred.  An Outdoors Card alone is not necessarily the required licence authority.

The Licence Was Purchased After the Hunting Began

The hunter may have purchased a Small Game Licence later on the same day or after contact with a Conservation Officer.  Transaction timestamps can be important because later purchase does not retroactively create licence authority for earlier hunting.

The Licence Had Expired or Was for a Different Licence Term

A person may have held a previous Small Game Licence or believed a licence remained current.  The licence year, expiry date, three-year licence status where applicable, and Ministry account history should be checked.

The Licence Was Not Valid for the Date or Area

The hunter may have held a Small Game Licence but hunted during the June 16 to August 31 regional period when that licence was not valid, unless the falconry exception applied.  Date and location evidence may therefore be central.

What Is the Fine?

There is no single Ontario set fine titled "Hunting Without a Small Game Licence."  The set fine depends on the legal wildlife category and whether the person is charged as a resident or non-resident.  The current Ontario Court of Justice set fine schedule lists the following principal section 6 hunting offences relevant to ordinary small game and furbearer cases:

• Resident-hunt game mammal without licence: $200;
• Resident-hunt game bird without licence: $250;
• Resident-hunt furbearing mammal without licence: $250;
• Non-resident-hunt game mammal without licence: $300;
• Non-resident-hunt game bird without licence: $300; and
• Non-resident-hunt furbearing mammal without licence: $300.

A set fine is the preset fine used when an offence is dealt with by ticket.  The set fine is not necessarily the total amount payable because a victim fine surcharge and applicable court costs may also be added.  If your ticket uses another section 6 wildlife category, a different set fine may apply.

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 sets a general maximum for an individual of a $25,000 fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.  The procedure used matters: proceedings begun by an ordinary Part I offence notice are subject to separate sentencing limits under the Provincial Offences Act.  The statutory maximum is therefore not the automatic result of an ordinary payable ticket.

Can This Charge Affect My Hunting Licence or Hunting Privileges?

A hunting prohibition or licence cancellation is not automatic simply because you have been charged.  A charge is not a conviction.  After conviction, section 104 can permit a discretionary court order affecting a licence or authorization related to the offence and the activity requiring it, with cancellation following where the order applies to a kind of licence or authorization the person already holds.

What Evidence May Be Used?

These cases often depend on licensing records, species identification, timing, location, and whether you were actually hunting.  Relevant evidence may include:

• Your Outdoors Card, Licence Summary, Small Game Licence records, receipts, purchase confirmations, and Ministry licensing history;
• Transaction dates and timestamps showing when a licence, tag, permit, or other hunting product became valid;
• Conservation Officer notes, observations, photographs, video, audio, and statements;
• Wildlife identification, photographs, harvested wildlife, or other evidence showing the species involved;
• Firearms, bows, calls, decoys, dogs, hunting clothing, or other equipment relevant to whether hunting was occurring;
• GPS information, maps, messages, photographs, videos, and other electronic evidence showing date, place, purpose, or activity; and
• Records supporting an apprentice, farmer, trapper, preserve, protection of property, or other exception relied upon in the case.

Disclosure is the relevant information and evidence in the prosecutor's possession or control that you are entitled to receive, subject to the law.  Disclosure should be obtained and reviewed before important decisions are made about a disputed charge.

What Possible Defences or Legal Issues May Apply?

The available defence depends on the exact offence wording, wildlife, licensing records, activity, location, and any supported exception.  Not every issue applies to every case.

You Had the Required Small Game Licence

Ministry records may show that a valid Small Game Licence was already in force before the hunting began, either through the Licence Summary or a qualifying Outdoors Card record.  Because section 107 places the burden on a defendant who relies on having the required licence, reliable licensing records are especially important.

You Were Not Hunting

You may have been scouting, travelling, photographing wildlife, retrieving property, checking equipment, or accompanying another hunter rather than hunting.  The Conservation Officer's observations, equipment, location, communications, and purpose should be compared with Ontario's legal definition and proof rules for hunting.

The Wildlife or Licence Requirement Was Misidentified

The species may have been incorrectly identified, the ticket may use the wrong section 6 category, or the evidence may concern a different licensing product.  Classification matters because game mammal, game bird, and furbearing mammal offences use different short form wording and can carry different fines.

A Statutory Licence Exception Applied

The evidence may support the apprentice, farmer, licensed trapper, licensed game bird hunting preserve, or protection of property rule described above.  Each has conditions that must be checked against the facts.

The Issue Was Carrying or Producing an Existing Licence

A valid licence may have existed but was not available when requested.  Ministry licensing history and the exact ticket section may show that the issue concerns carrying or production rather than lack of licence authority.

Due Diligence or an Honest and Reasonable Mistake of Fact

Due diligence means taking all reasonable care in the circumstances to prevent the offence.  An honest and reasonable mistake of fact means honestly and reasonably believing facts that, if true, would make the conduct innocent.  Section 101 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 recognizes these defences where their requirements are established.

A factual mistake may concern whether a licence transaction had taken effect, whether the person reasonably believed a specific licensing record had already been issued, or another fact that would make the conduct lawful if true.  Simply forgetting to purchase a licence or misunderstanding the law is different from a reasonable mistake about a fact.

Could Wildlife, a Firearm, or Other Property Be Seized or Forfeited?

Yes, where the statutory requirements are met.  Depending on the investigation, Conservation Officers may seize wildlife, a firearm or bow, hunting equipment, documents, a vehicle, phone, GPS device, or other property connected with the charge.  Seizure means property has been taken into official custody and does not itself prove guilt.  Forfeiture means permanent loss of ownership and is a separate legal consequence.

What Happens Next?

Your ticket or summons should identify the next procedural step and any response deadline or court date.  Do not miss that deadline while obtaining legal advice, requesting disclosure, or deciding how to respond.

If you dispute the charge, compare the disclosure with your Ministry licensing history, Licence Summary, Outdoors Card, transaction timestamps, species evidence, location records, Conservation Officer notes, witness evidence, and any records supporting an exception.  If several charges arose from the same incident, each should be reviewed separately.

The prosecutor may withdraw the charge, meaning the charge is no longer being pursued, or the matter may be resolved by a guilty plea or another agreement, or proceed to trial.  The appropriate response depends on the evidence, legal issues, possible consequences, and circumstances of your case.

How Can DefendCharges.ca™ Help?

DefendCharges.ca™ can review the wording on your ticket, summons, seizure notice, or other documents and compare it with the wildlife, records, and activity involved.  This can help identify the exact charge, the legal requirements that apply, and the factual issues that may be important to your case.

If the matter proceeds through court, DefendCharges.ca™ can explain the court process, review the available evidence and legal issues, discuss possible penalties or other consequences, and help you understand your options for responding to the charge.

Have Questions About Hunting Charges?

Whether you have been charged with one hunting offence or several, understanding your legal options is important.  DefendCharges.ca™ can review your case, explain the charges you are facing, and help you understand your legal options and the best course of action.  Contact us today to discuss your situation.

Key Takeaways

• Hunting Without a Small Game Licence is a plain English page title; the exact section 6 offence depends on the legal category of wildlife involved;
• A Small Game Licence normally appears on a Licence Summary but can, in specified circumstances, be identified directly on an Outdoors Card;
• A Small Game Licence does not necessarily provide every additional tag, permit, or authorization required for every species or hunting method;
• A licence can exist but be invalid for the relevant date or area, including the June 16 to August 31 regional restriction unless the falconry exception applies;
• Apprentice, farmer, licensed trapper, game bird hunting preserve, and protection of property rules can create limited exceptions where their requirements are met;
• An animal does not have to be shot or killed because Ontario's legal definition of hunting includes conduct beyond a successful harvest; and
• The current principal set fines range from $200 to $300 depending on the wildlife category and resident or non-resident status.

Conclusion

A Hunting Without a Small Game Licence charge should be reviewed using the exact offence wording and section number, species, Ministry licensing history, date, location, and evidence showing what you were doing.  An Outdoors Card alone may not establish a Small Game Licence, while a valid Small Game Licence can still be subject to species-specific, seasonal, geographic, tag, or permit requirements.

Before paying the ticket or entering a plea, review the disclosure and the records that show whether Small Game Licence authority existed and whether any exception applied at the relevant time.  Legal representation can help determine what must be proven, how the statutory proof rules affect the case, and whether the available evidence supports a defence or other legal issue.