Illegal Deer Possession in Ontario:

I Received an Illegal Deer Possession Ticket or Summons.  What Should I Do?

Read every document carefully and do not miss the response deadline or required court date. The exact wording and section number should identify whether the allegation concerns possessing illegally killed wildlife, possessing a deer that should have had a tag attached, unlawful transportation, or another possession-related offence.

Paying a ticket will usually be treated as pleading guilty and will result in a conviction without a trial.  A summons requires you to attend court or respond in the manner stated and should not be treated like an ordinary payable ticket.

Before deciding how to respond, check:

• The exact wording and section number of every charge;
• What deer, meat, antlers, hide, or other parts are involved;
• Where the deer was found and who used or controlled that location;
• Who allegedly harvested, transported, transferred, or stored the deer;
• When and where the deer was allegedly killed or acquired;
• Whether a valid licence, tag, season, transfer, or other authority applied; and
• Whether deer or other property was seized.

Keep relevant Outdoors Cards, Licence Summaries, Deer Licences, tags, validations, hunter reports, processor or taxidermy records, packaging labels, photographs, messages, GPS records, purchase or transfer documents, import records, and every document provided by the Conservation Officer.

Do not move, relabel, repackage, discard, consume, sell, or transfer the deer after an investigation has begun unless you receive clear official instructions or legal advice.  Its condition, packaging, location, and identification may become important evidence.

Should I Pay an Illegal Deer Possession Ticket?

Paying the ticket will generally be treated as a guilty plea and will result in a conviction. Before paying, make sure you understand what deer or deer parts are involved, why they are alleged to have been obtained illegally, and how the evidence connects you to them.

Important questions may include:

• Did you know the deer or deer parts were present?
• Did you exercise custody or control over them?
• Was the deer lawfully harvested or acquired?
• Did the deer belong to another person using a shared location?
• Can the species, identity, and quantity be reliably established?
• Can the prosecutor prove the underlying hunting or harvesting violation?
• Were additional charges or seizures involved?

The amount printed on a ticket may not reflect every possible consequence.  A conviction may also affect seized deer, hunting privileges, and other property where authorized by law.

What Is Illegal Deer Possession?

Illegal deer possession generally means having custody or control of a deer or deer parts that were killed, injured, or captured contrary to Ontario law.

The alleged underlying violation may involve one or more other deer charges.

Hunting Without a Deer Licence

This allegation may be relevant where the deer was allegedly killed by a person who did not hold the required valid Deer Licence or other hunting authority.

Hunting Deer During a Closed Season

This allegation may be relevant where the deer was allegedly killed when no open season applied to that location, date, deer type, or method of hunting.

Hunting More Than Your Tag Allows

This allegation may be relevant where the deer allegedly exceeded the available tag authority of the hunter or hunting party.

Hunting Antlerless Deer Without Authorization

This allegation may be relevant where an antlerless deer was allegedly killed without authority valid for the applicable Wildlife Management Unit, season, and hunt.

The underlying allegation may instead involve night hunting, a prohibited hunting method, or another violation connected with killing, injuring, or capturing the deer.

The alleged possession may involve a whole deer, meat, antlers, a head or skull, a hide, bones, packaged meat, a taxidermy mount, or other identifiable deer remains.

The central questions are whether you possessed the deer or deer parts and whether the deer had been obtained contrary to Ontario law.

What Does Possession Mean?

Possession ordinarily involves knowledge of the deer or deer parts and a sufficient degree of custody, control, or authority over them. It does not always require the deer to be held in your hands or stored on property registered in your name.

A person may be alleged to possess deer found:

• In their vehicle, ATV, snowmobile, boat, or trailer;
• In their home, garage, barn, shed, or outbuilding;
• In their freezer, cooler, refrigerator, or storage container;
• At a hunting camp they occupy or control;
• At a processor or taxidermist under their name;
• In a shared location they allegedly knew about and controlled; or
• In another person’s custody on their behalf.

Finding deer in a place connected to you does not automatically prove possession.  Where several people share a vehicle, camp, residence, freezer, or storage building, the evidence must show the knowledge and control of the particular person charged.

Can You Be Charged if You Did Not Kill the Deer?

Yes.  You may be charged with illegal deer possession even where another person hunted or killed the deer.

An allegation may arise where a person accepted or stored unlawfully harvested meat, transported or processed the deer, kept its antlers or hide, helped conceal it, or continued to control it after learning facts suggesting that it had been obtained illegally.

The prosecutor must still prove your individual possession.  Merely being related to, travelling with, hunting with, or living with the person who harvested the deer does not automatically prove the charge.

Can Deer Meat or Deer Parts Be Shared With Another Person?

Lawfully harvested deer meat and parts may generally be shared, gifted, transferred, processed, or stored by another person, subject to any applicable tagging, identification, transportation, sale, and documentation rules.

The fact that someone gave you the deer does not automatically make possession lawful or unlawful.  Relevant questions may include who harvested it, which licence and tag applied, when and where it was harvested, whether it was lawfully transported, and whether it came from a processor, farm, dealer, another jurisdiction, or another lawful source.

Records identifying the hunter, harvest, processor, transfer, purchase, or import may help establish a lawful source, particularly where deer parts are transported separately from the hunter or stored for an extended period.

If money or another benefit changed hands, separate rules concerning the buying or selling of wildlife may also apply.

Can You Possess Deer From a Previous Hunting Season?

Possessing deer that was lawfully harvested during an earlier hunting season is not automatically illegal. An investigation may nevertheless arise where the source, harvest date, quantity, or legality of the deer cannot be established.

Evidence of an earlier lawful harvest may include:

• The original tag or identifying tag information;
• Licence Summaries, Ministry records, and hunter reports;
• Dated photographs, videos, messages, or witness accounts;
• Butcher, processor, or taxidermy records;
• Freezer labels, packaging dates, and storage records;
• Transfer, purchase, or transportation documents; and
• Evidence showing when and from whom the deer was acquired.

The absence of a current tag attached to processed meat does not automatically prove illegal possession.  The complete history and alleged source of the deer must be considered.

Is Deer Found in a Shared Freezer Automatically Yours?

No.  Deer found in a shared freezer does not automatically establish that every person with access to the freezer possessed it.

The prosecutor may examine who used the freezer, who placed the deer inside, whether packages were labelled, who had access or keys, what each person said, and whether photographs, messages, receipts, or other records connected the deer to a particular person.

Ownership of the freezer or property may be relevant, but it is not necessarily conclusive.  The prosecution must establish the knowledge and control of the person charged over the deer identified in the allegation.

What Law Applies?

Section 12 of Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 prohibits possessing wildlife that was killed, injured, or captured contrary to the Act or regulations.

White-tailed deer are big game under Ontario wildlife law.  The Act and its regulations contain additional rules concerning Deer Licences, tags, seasons, party hunting, controlled deer hunts, possession, transportation, buying, selling, importation, and documentation.

“Illegal Deer Possession” is a consumer-facing page title.  The ticket or summons may instead allege possession of illegally killed wildlife, possession of a deer that should have had a tag attached, possession of wildlife obtained contrary to another jurisdiction’s law, or another possession-related offence.

These are regulatory offences.  The prosecutor may not have to prove mens rea—Latin for “guilty mind” [the legally required mental element]—in the same way required for many criminal offences.  The evidence must nevertheless establish legal possession by the accused person.

Section 101 of the Act recognizes defences involving due diligence or an honest and reasonable belief in facts that, if true, would make the conduct innocent. Due diligence means taking all reasonable care in the circumstances.  Its application depends on the precise offence and evidence.

What Must Be Proven?

The prosecutor must prove every required part of the particular charge beyond a reasonable doubt. For a section 12 allegation involving deer, this may include proving that:

• You were the person involved in the alleged possession;
• The item was a deer or an identifiable part of a deer;
• You possessed it through knowledge and custody or control;
• The deer had been killed, injured, or captured contrary to Ontario law;
• The alleged possession occurred on the date and at the location stated;
• The evidence connects the unlawful deer to the specific parts allegedly possessed; and
• The conduct satisfied the remaining requirements of the precise provision charged.

The prosecutor must establish the underlying illegality.  It is not enough to prove only that you possessed deer meat, antlers, a hide, or another deer part.

A separate conviction for the underlying hunting offence is not necessarily required.  However, the prosecutor must still prove the facts establishing that the deer was killed, injured, or captured contrary to the Act or regulations.

The prosecutor must also prove your own possession.  Another person’s unlawful harvest does not automatically establish that you possessed the resulting deer.

Does the Prosecutor Have to Prove How the Deer Was Obtained Illegally?

Yes.  For a section 12 allegation, the prosecutor must prove that the deer was killed, injured, or captured contrary to Ontario law. An unclear source or missing paperwork does not automatically establish an unlawful harvest.

The underlying allegation may involve hunting without a Deer Licence or tag, hunting during a closed season, exceeding available tag authority, hunting an unauthorized antlerless deer, hunting at night, or another violation connected with killing, injuring, or capturing the deer.

The prosecution may rely on licensing records, tag information, season and location evidence, hunter reports, statements, photographs, electronic records, or the physical deer.  The evidence must connect the alleged violation to the deer or deer parts identified in the possession charge.

What Common Situations Lead to This Charge?

Illegal-deer-possession allegations commonly arise where:

• Deer meat is found in a freezer shared by several people;
• A friend, relative, or hunting partner allegedly harvested the deer;
• Stored meat or antlers are said to come from an earlier season;
• Deer was gifted or shared without records identifying its source;
• The applicable licence, tag, season, or party authority is disputed;
• Deer is found in a vehicle or hunting camp used by several people; or
• Possession, transportation, licence, tag, or harvesting charges arise together.

A common situation is not proof of guilt.  The prosecutor must still prove both the unlawful source of the deer and the accused person’s possession.

What Is the Fine?

The current Ontario set fine for possessing illegally killed wildlife under section 12 is $200. The same set fine applies to possessing wildlife that was illegally injured or captured.

A set fine is the fine assigned when an offence is dealt with by ticket.  The total payable amount is higher after the victim fine surcharge and applicable court costs are added.  A different possession, tagging, transportation, import, or documentation offence may carry a different set fine.

Under section 102(1) of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, the general maximum penalty for an individual convicted of an offence under the Act is a fine of up to $25,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. These are statutory maximums, not the automatic or usual result of every case.

A conviction may also affect hunting privileges or seized property where authorized by law.  The outcome may depend on the offence, quantity and nature of the deer, circumstances, related charges, previous record, and manner in which the case proceeds.

For information about possible effects on hunting privileges, see Hunting Licence Suspensions.

What Evidence Is Commonly Used?

Illegal deer possession cases often depend on the deer’s source, who knew about it, who controlled it, and whether it was lawfully harvested or acquired.

Possession and Control Evidence

• The location of the deer, freezer or vehicle access, keys, labels, names, and storage arrangements;
• Statements from hunters, residents, passengers, property owners, processors, and other witnesses; and
• Messages, photographs, videos, GPS information, phone records, and group communications.

Source and Harvest Evidence

• Deer Licences, tags, Licence Summaries, validations, hunter reports, and Ministry records;
• Season, location, deer-type, party-hunting, and alleged-harvest evidence;
• Processor, taxidermy, purchase, transfer, farm, import, packaging, and freezer records; and
• The carcass, meat, antlers, hide, hair, tissue, DNA, quantities, and species-identification evidence.

No single item necessarily proves the charge.  The evidence must establish both possession and the unlawful source of the deer.

Disclosure is the evidence the prosecutor intends to rely upon.  Requesting and reviewing disclosure may help identify what evidence supports each required element and whether relevant records are missing.

What Possible Defences or Legal Issues May Apply?

The available defence depends on whether you possessed the deer, whether it was unlawfully obtained, what you knew, and the reliability of the records and evidence. Possible issues may include:

• The deer was lawfully harvested under the applicable licence, tag, season, and other authority;
• Processor, transfer, purchase, farm, import, or earlier-season records established a lawful source;
• You did not know about or control the deer or the location where it was found;
• The evidence connected the deer to another person rather than to you;
• The species, quantity, identity, or source of the deer parts was not reliably established;
• The underlying hunting or harvesting violation was not proven; or
• Due diligence or an honest and reasonable belief in facts that, if true, would make the possession innocent, applied.

Due diligence generally requires evidence that reasonable steps were taken to confirm the lawful source of the deer.  Simply saying that someone else harvested it may not resolve whether you legally possessed illegally obtained wildlife.

The legality of a detention, camp inspection, vehicle or residence search, freezer search, seizure, questioning, or statement may also require review.

Could Deer, Firearms, Vehicles, Freezers, or Other Property Be Seized?

Yes.  Deer and other property may be seized where the legal requirements for seizure are met. Depending on the investigation, this may include the deer, tags, hunting records, firearms, vehicles, coolers, freezers, phones, cameras, GPS devices, or other property allegedly connected with the offence.

Seizure means property has been taken into official custody.  It does not automatically mean ownership has been permanently lost. Forfeiture means ownership is permanently lost under a court order or another forfeiture provision authorized by law.

Keep every seizure notice, inventory, receipt, occurrence number, and other document provided by the Conservation Officer.

What Happens Next?

If you received a ticket, the document should state your response options and deadline.  Paying it will usually result in a guilty plea and conviction.  If you received a summons, you must attend court or respond as directed.

If the allegation is disputed, disclosure can be requested and reviewed.  The case may be resolved by withdrawal, a guilty plea, a negotiated resolution, or a trial.

At trial, the prosecutor must prove every required element beyond a reasonable doubt.  Where several people used the same vehicle, camp, home, freezer, or storage area, each person’s knowledge and control must be considered separately.

How Can DefendCharges.ca Help?

DefendCharges.ca can review the precise charge, the source and identification of the deer, the evidence of knowledge and control, and the alleged underlying hunting violation.

DefendCharges.ca can request and review disclosure, identify factual and legal issues, communicate with the prosecutor, explain possible outcomes, and represent you during the court process where permitted.

The same incident may also involve Illegal Transportation of Deer or Abandoning Deer Meat (Wanton Waste).  Each allegation should be reviewed separately.

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 decide on the best course of action.  Contact us today to discuss your situation.

Key Takeaways

• Illegal deer possession may involve a whole deer, meat, antlers, hide, or other identifiable deer parts.
• You may face a charge even if another person hunted or killed the deer.
• The prosecutor must prove both possession and that the deer was obtained contrary to Ontario law.
• Deer found in a shared vehicle, camp, residence, or freezer does not automatically belong to every person present.
• Records showing a lawful harvest, transfer, purchase, import, processing history, or earlier season may be important.
• The current set fine for possessing illegally killed wildlife under section 12 is $200.
• A conviction may affect seized deer, hunting privileges, and other property in addition to any fine.

Conclusion

Being charged with illegal deer possession does not automatically mean you will be convicted.  The prosecutor must prove that you possessed the deer or deer parts and that the deer had been killed, injured, or captured contrary to Ontario law.

Start with the exact wording and section number on your ticket or summons, preserve records showing the deer’s source, and do not miss the response deadline or court date.  Consider obtaining legal advice before deciding how to respond.