Moose Hunting has gone through major changes to regulations this fall. The Moose tag draw was replaced by a points-based system. Natural Resource ministry spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski says hunters are no longer getting a calf tag with their license.
“So that we can better manage the calf harvest and make sure that there are biologically appropriate harvest levels for all components of the moose population,” she said.
Kowalski says the moose population has declined significantly in the north since 2004, and there have been concerns raised by the high calf harvest and fewer calves being seen in the winter.
She adds the Ministry listened to concerns hunters had over the years.
“And we designed a fairer and more consistent approach to how to distribute moose tags to hunters,” she said. “So moving from a draw to a points-based process is fairer to hunters because it distributes tags first to people who have applied the longest without successfully getting a moose tag.”
In 2022, the Ministry will update hunters on the number of points it took to get each tag. She adds it won’t guarantee a hunter’s success, but it will help hunters apply strategically for the types of tags they prefer.