Hunting Moose During a Closed Season in Ontario:

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Last Updated: August 04 2026

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Hunting Moose During a Closed Season in Ontario

Hunting moose during a closed season in Ontario generally means that a Conservation Officer alleges you hunted moose when no open season applied to you in the area where the activity occurred.  The date, Wildlife Management Unit, residency status, and exact season category may determine whether the charge can be proven.

Many people also refer to this offence as hunting out of season.  Regardless of the wording, the allegation is the same—you are accused of hunting moose when there was no legal open season for that activity.

Do not panic.  Receiving a ticket or summons—a document requiring you to attend court or respond as directed—does not automatically mean you will be convicted, meaning found guilty.  The prosecutor—the lawyer or representative acting for the government—must prove the required parts of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt, meaning the evidence must leave the court firmly convinced of guilt.

Moose seasons can vary by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU)—a numbered area used to apply local hunting rules—and may differ for residents, non-residents, special hunting opportunities, and permitted firearm classes.  If several allegations are listed, start with Moose Hunting Charges and compare each charge with your documents.

I Received a Ticket or Summons.  What Should I Do?

Read every document carefully and do not miss the response deadline or court date. A ticket usually provides response options and a deadline.  A summons is not an ordinary payable ticket and must be answered in the manner stated.

Before deciding how to respond, check:

• The exact wording and section number of every charge;
• The alleged date, time, location, and Wildlife Management Unit;
• Whether you were classified as a resident or non-resident;
• Which moose season and firearm class applied to the area;
• Whether a special or controlled hunting opportunity was involved;
• What Moose Licence, Moose Tag, party-hunting authority, or other documents existed; and
• Whether a moose or any other property was seized.

Keep your ticket or summons, Outdoors Card, Licence Summary, Moose Licence, Moose Tag, allocation records, maps, GPS information, photographs, messages, receipts, hunter reports, and seizure documents.  Preserve the original electronic records and do not delete, alter, or create information about the incident.

Write down what you remember while it is fresh, including the route, landmarks, people present, equipment, moose observed, and what each person was doing.  Consider obtaining legal advice before paying a ticket, entering a plea, or giving another statement.

Should I Pay the Ticket?

Paying the ticket will generally be treated as pleading guilty and will result in a conviction without a trial. Before paying, make sure you understand which season the officer says was closed and why that season allegedly applied to you.

A dispute may concern the alleged hunting date, the precise location or WMU, resident or non-resident status, a special season, the species involved, or whether your conduct legally amounted to hunting.  A related allegation about a Moose Licence, Moose Tag, party hunt, or firearm class may require a separate analysis.

The set fine printed on a ticket may not be the only possible consequence.  A conviction may affect hunting privileges or seized property, and one incident may lead to several charges.  A summons may place the penalty before the court instead of offering a preset ticket amount.

What Is Hunting Moose During a Closed Season?

This charge generally alleges that you hunted moose outside the open season applicable to you and the area where the hunting occurred. It may involve hunting before the season opened, after it ended, or in a WMU where no applicable moose season was open.

Ontario law defines a closed season as the period during which hunting, trapping, or fishing for a species is not permitted.  An open season is the period during which that activity is permitted, subject to the other legal requirements that apply.

“Hunting” is broader than killing an animal.  It can include lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of, pursuing, chasing, shooting at, capturing, or harassing wildlife.  The definition excludes certain searching, waiting, trailing, or pursuing done for a purpose other than attempting to kill, injure, capture, or harass wildlife, unless wildlife is actually killed, injured, captured, or harassed as a result.

This page focuses on the closed-season allegation.  If the season was open but the concern involves tag authority, see Hunting Moose Without a Tag.

How Do Moose Open Seasons Work?

There is no single Ontario-wide moose season that applies to every hunter and every location. Ontario Regulation 670/98 contains the legal open-season table for moose.  The table identifies areas, resident and non-resident seasons, and firearm classes.

The annual Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary presents the season information in a readable format.  It groups general firearm seasons, seasons limited to bows or muzzle-loading guns, bows-only seasons, and certain resident seasons with controlled hunter numbers.

Season dates and related rules may change, so this page does not hard-code annual dates.  Hunters should consult the current Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary, the regulations, their Licence Summary, Moose Tag, and any special-hunt documents.

If a summary, saved screenshot, social-media post, mapping application, or another hunter’s recollection conflicts with the legislation, the legislation controls.  A case involving an earlier incident must be reviewed using the law and official season information in force on the alleged date, not automatically the rules that apply today.

Why Do the Wildlife Management Unit and Residency Status Matter?

The same date may fall within an open season in one WMU but outside the season in another. Some WMUs also have no non-resident moose season or have a special opportunity available only to hunters who meet stated eligibility requirements.

The exact location may therefore be central to the charge.  A road, waterway, township line, or other feature may form part of a WMU boundary.  A general navigation application may not show the legal boundary precisely.

Resident and non-resident seasons can begin and end on different dates.  Residency is a legal classification under Ontario law, not merely the mailing address a person used or the way the person described themselves.  The relevant records and circumstances should be reviewed if residency affected the season identified by the prosecutor.

Does a Bows-Only or Wrong-Firearm Issue Mean the Moose Season Was Closed?

A firearm-class issue and a closed-season charge are closely related, but they are not always the same offence. The moose open-season table identifies the class of firearm connected with each listed season.  Ontario Regulation 665/98 also separately prohibits a person hunting deer, elk, or moose from using or carrying a firearm outside the class permitted for the applicable open season.

For example, a period may be open for bows while a person is alleged to have hunted with or carried a rifle.  The prosecutor may rely on the date, WMU, equipment, and applicable table when deciding whether to proceed with a closed-season allegation, a prohibited-firearm-class allegation, or both.

The section number on the ticket or summons matters.  Section 25(2) addresses hunting game wildlife in the applicable area and open season, including any age or sex specification in the table.  Section 70 addresses the class of firearm used or carried while hunting deer, elk, or moose.  Evidence of the wrong firearm does not automatically prove every part of a separate closed-season charge.

Can a Valid Moose Licence or Moose Tag Make a Closed Season Open?

No.  A Moose Licence or Moose Tag does not create, extend, or replace an open season. The licence, tag, WMU, moose type, season, firearm class, and any special conditions must work together.

A Moose Tag may be valid only for a stated WMU, moose type, and season.  A Bull Tag or Cow/Calf Tag associated with a bows-only opportunity does not authorize use during a different season.  A Calf Tag may have different season coverage, but it still does not authorize hunting before the applicable season opens or after it closes.

Party hunting also does not extend the season.  A person relying on another participant’s Moose Tag must still comply with the open season and every applicable party-hunting requirement.  For more information, see Party Hunting Moose.

If the allegation is that the party hunted more moose than its tags authorized, see Exceeding Moose Tag Limits.  That offence has different legal requirements.

Does the Type of Moose Affect the Charge?

The animal’s age or sex may matter where the applicable table, licence, tag, or special hunting opportunity distinguishes among moose types. Ontario materials commonly describe adult male moose as bulls, adult female moose as cows, and young moose as calves.

Section 25(2) requires compliance with any age or sex specified in the applicable open-season table.  Tag authority is a related but separate issue: a Bull Tag, Cow/Calf Tag, or Calf Tag does not provide the same harvest authority.

If an animal was recovered, photographs, identifying anatomy, biological evidence, field-dressing observations, and tagging records may identify its type.  Without a recovered animal, the prosecutor may rely on observations, recordings, statements, or the conduct allegedly directed toward a particular moose.

What Law Applies?

The principal rules are found in Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, Ontario Regulation 665/98, commonly called the Hunting Regulation, and Ontario Regulation 670/98, the Open Seasons—Wildlife Regulation.

The Act defines “open season,” “closed season,” and “hunting.” Section 25(2) of the Hunting Regulation generally prohibits hunting game wildlife unless the person hunts in an area specified for the species, during the open season applicable to the person and area, and in accordance with any age or sex specified in the table.  Table 8 of the Open Seasons—Wildlife Regulation contains the moose areas, seasons, and firearm classes.

Section 70 of the Hunting Regulation separately controls which firearm class may be used or carried while hunting moose.  Other provisions govern licences, tags, party hunting, special WMUs, hunting methods, and seized property.

This is a regulatory offence—an offence created by legislation to regulate conduct.  The prosecutor does not ordinarily have to prove mens rea—Latin for “guilty mind” [the legally required mental element]—in the same way required for many criminal offences.

Section 101 of the Act provides that a person must not be convicted if the person establishes that they exercised all due diligence, meaning all reasonable care in the circumstances, to prevent the offence, or honestly and reasonably believed facts that, if true, would make the conduct innocent.  Section 109 also creates evidentiary rules that may allow possession of hunting equipment in an area usually inhabited by wildlife, or shooting at or stalking an officer’s wildlife decoy, to serve as proof of hunting in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

What Must Be Proven?

The prosecutor must prove every required part of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. For an allegation under section 25(2), the prosecution may need to establish that:

• You were the person involved;
• Your conduct legally amounted to hunting;
• The game wildlife involved was moose;
• The alleged hunting occurred on the date and at the location claimed;
• No open season applied to you in that area at that time; and
• Any age or sex classification material to the charge was established.

The prosecution must prove the offence actually charged.  Being in a hunting area, accompanying other hunters, or possessing a licence or firearm does not automatically establish every element.  However, section 109’s evidentiary rules may affect how possession of hunting equipment is treated, so the surrounding facts remain important.

A special authority, constitutional right, regulatory exception, or other legal issue may change the analysis.  The prosecutor should not automatically be described as having to disprove every possible exception as an ordinary element; the wording of the provision, the evidence, and the applicable legal burden must be examined.

If a licence is relied on as a defence, section 107 of the Act places the burden on the defendant to prove that the required licence was held.  Section 101 likewise requires the defendant to establish due diligence or an honest and reasonable mistake of fact.  These burdens are different from the prosecutor’s obligation to prove the required parts of the closed-season charge.

Can You Be Charged if No Moose Was Shot or Killed?

Yes.  A closed-season allegation can arise even if no moose was shot, injured, or killed. Ontario’s definition of hunting includes conduct such as lying in wait for, searching for, trailing, pursuing, chasing, shooting at, capturing, or harassing wildlife.

An allegation may arise from following fresh moose tracks, calling moose, waiting at a known crossing with hunting equipment, pushing a moose toward another hunter, or shooting and missing.  The purpose behind the activity and the complete circumstances matter.

Scouting is not automatically hunting. Searching for, waiting for, trailing, or pursuing wildlife for a purpose other than attempting to kill, injure, capture, or harass it can fall outside the statutory definition, unless wildlife is actually harmed, captured, or harassed as a result.

A person may say they were photographing wildlife, checking a trail camera, travelling, retrieving equipment, working, or accompanying another hunter.  Officer observations, equipment, location, communications, and statements may be used to decide whether the conduct had a hunting purpose.

What Common Situations Lead to This Charge?

The Hunter Used the Wrong Year’s Season Information

The person may have relied on an old summary, saved screenshot, calendar entry, or memory from a previous year.  The case must use the legislation and official season information that applied on the alleged date.

The Wrong Wildlife Management Unit Was Used

The person may have planned the hunt using the season for one WMU while allegedly hunting in another.  Official area descriptions, maps, GPS data, landmarks, and officer observations may become important.

The Hunt Began Too Early or Continued Too Late

The activity may have occurred close to the opening or closing date.  Photographs, messages, device timestamps, licence records, and witness accounts may help establish when hunting began or ended.

The Hunter Crossed a Boundary

A trail, logging road, water crossing, or vehicle route may have entered a neighbouring WMU.  Whether that occurred and whether the person was hunting at the time require separate factual findings.

A Resident Season Was Used by a Non-Resident

The dates may have been open to residents but not to non-residents.  The prosecution may rely on licensing information and residency evidence to identify the season said to apply.

A Special Season Did Not Apply to the Hunter

A limited season may be available only in a stated WMU or to hunters meeting particular eligibility and documentation requirements.  The person may have believed that another participant’s eligibility covered the group.

The Person Says They Were Not Hunting

The person may say they were scouting, travelling, retrieving equipment, checking cameras, or helping only after a lawful hunt.  The legal definition of hunting and the evidence of purpose and conduct determine whether this issue can succeed.

What Is the Fine?

The current Ontario set fine for “Hunt during the closed season—moose” under section 25(2) of Ontario Regulation 665/98 is $500. A set fine is the fine assigned when an offence is dealt with by ticket.  The total payable amount may be higher after the victim fine surcharge—an additional amount imposed by provincial law—and applicable court costs are added.

The exact set fine should be confirmed using the charge wording, section number, and set-fine schedule in force on the alleged offence date.  A related allegation about the firearm class, licence, tag, party hunt, vehicle, or another hunting rule may carry a different set fine.

Section 102(1) of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 provides a general maximum penalty for an individual of a fine up to $25,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. These are statutory maximums, not the automatic or usual result of every closed-season charge.

Under section 104(2), a court may also make an order restricting a person from holding or obtaining a specified licence or authorization and from engaging in the related activity for a stated period.  If the person already holds the affected licence or authorization, the court must cancel it when making that order.  For more information, see Hunting Licence Suspensions.

What Evidence May Be Used?

These cases often depend on proof of the applicable season, exact location and date, and what the person was doing. The prosecutor may rely on several categories of evidence.

Season, Area, and Legal Records

• The regulation and open-season table in force on the alleged date;
• The Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary, official WMU maps, and legal area descriptions; and
• Records showing resident or non-resident status and eligibility for a special season.

Location and Timing Evidence

• GPS tracks, phone-location information, mapping data, and vehicle routes;
• Photographs, videos, trail-camera images, messages, and electronic timestamps; and
• Landmarks, road signs, property records, camps, trails, and witness descriptions.

Officer and Witness Evidence

• Conservation Officer observations, notes, reports, photographs, video, and audio recordings;
• Statements from hunters, passengers, landowners, outfitters, or other witnesses; and
• Statements allegedly made by the person charged about the hunt, season, route, or purpose.

Licensing, Electronic, and Physical Evidence

• Outdoors Card records, Licence Summaries, Moose Licences, Moose Tags, and party-hunting documents;
• Firearms, bows, ammunition, calls, clothing, blinds, vehicles, and other hunting equipment; and
• A moose or moose parts, biological evidence, tagging records, hunter reports, and seizure documents.

No single item necessarily proves the charge.  The evidence must be considered together.  Section 109 gives certain evidence a specific legal effect but permits evidence to the contrary.

Disclosure is the evidence the prosecutor intends to rely upon.  It should be requested and reviewed before deciding how to respond to a disputed charge.

What Possible Defences or Legal Issues May Apply?

Possible defences depend on the charge wording, applicable season table, location evidence, alleged conduct, and legal burdens. No defence should be assumed to apply before the evidence is reviewed.

An Open Season Applied

The correct historical table may show that a moose season applied to the person and area on the alleged date.  The full table and any relevant eligibility provisions must be used, not an isolated calendar entry.

The Date, Location, or Wildlife Management Unit Is Not Proven

The prosecution may be unable to establish when or where the alleged hunting occurred.  Official boundaries should be compared with reliable location evidence instead of relying only on a general map or assumption.

You Were Not Hunting

The evidence may support lawful scouting, photography, travel, work, equipment retrieval, or assistance provided after a hunt.  The statutory definition, the person’s purpose, and section 109’s evidentiary rule must all be considered.

Identity or Species Is Not Proven

Officer observations, photographs, video, or witness accounts may not reliably identify the accused as the hunter or establish that the conduct was directed toward a moose.  Presence with a group does not automatically prove individual responsibility.

Due Diligence Was Exercised

Due diligence means taking all reasonable care to prevent the offence.  Relevant steps may include checking the current official summary and regulation, confirming the WMU with reliable maps, verifying residency or special-season eligibility, and resolving conflicting information before hunting.

An Honest and Reasonable Mistake of Fact Occurred

The evidence may show an honest and reasonable belief in facts that, if true, would have made the conduct innocent.  A factual mistake about an unmarked boundary may be different from merely misunderstanding the law or assuming that another hunter knew the correct dates.

A Special Legal Authority or Procedural Issue Applies

A statutory exception, constitutionally protected Indigenous harvesting right, special authorization, or evidence-admissibility issue may require separate analysis.  Its legal effect depends on the facts.

Following an outdated summary, relying on another hunter, forgetting to check a season, or having no intention to break the law does not automatically establish a defence.  The court examines the legal requirements, the evidence, and the reasonableness of the steps taken.

Could a Moose, Firearm, Vehicle, or Hunting Equipment Be Seized or Forfeited?

Yes.  A Conservation Officer may seize wildlife or other property when the legal requirements for seizure are met. Depending on the circumstances, this may include a moose or moose parts, firearms, bows, ammunition, vehicles, phones, cameras, GPS devices, or hunting equipment.

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 to the Crown through a statutory rule, court order, or another lawful process.

If a person is convicted, wildlife seized in connection with the offence is forfeited to the Crown.  A court may also order another thing seized in connection with the offence to be forfeited.  A firearm, vehicle, phone, or other equipment is not automatically forfeited merely because it was seized.

Keep every seizure notice, inventory, receipt, occurrence number, and related document.  The rules about return, continued detention, spoilage, fine default, third-party interests, and forfeiture can depend on the item and how the case ends.

What Happens Next?

What happens next depends on whether you received a ticket or summons, how you respond, and whether other charges arose from the incident. If you dispute the allegation, request and review disclosure before making an informed decision.

The case may resolve without a trial or may proceed to trial.  At trial, the prosecutor must prove the required parts of the closed-season charge beyond a reasonable doubt, subject to the evidentiary rules and any burdens placed on the defendant by the Act.

If there is a conviction, the court determines the penalty and any legally available order concerning hunting privileges or seized property.  Where several people were present, each person’s conduct, documents, statements, location, and role should be considered separately.

How Can DefendCharges.ca Help?

DefendCharges.ca can identify the exact season table and legal provisions that applied on the alleged date, compare them with the charge wording, and assess the evidence about the date, location, WMU, residency status, and alleged hunting conduct.

DefendCharges.ca can request and review disclosure, examine official maps and electronic location records, 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 Hunting Moose from a Vehicle, Illegal Moose Possession, a tag allegation, or a firearm-class charge.  Each charge should be reviewed separately because evidence supporting one allegation does not automatically prove the others.

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

• A moose season must be open for the person and area on the alleged hunting date;
• Moose seasons can vary by Wildlife Management Unit, residency status, special eligibility, and firearm class;
• A valid Moose Licence or Moose Tag does not create or extend an open season;
• A firearm-class allegation may be related to, but legally distinct from, a section 25(2) closed-season charge;
• No moose must be shot or killed for alleged conduct to fall within Ontario’s definition of hunting;
• The current set fine for hunting moose during the closed season is $500; and
• The correct law and official season information for the alleged offence date must be used.

Conclusion

Being charged with hunting moose during a closed season does not automatically mean you will be convicted.  The case requires a precise comparison between the alleged conduct and the open season that applied to the person, location, and date.

Official season records, WMU boundaries, residency information, location data, officer observations, and evidence about whether you were hunting may affect the result.  Before paying a ticket or responding to a summons, make sure you understand the exact allegation, the related charges, the possible consequences, and your legal options.