Q: Occasionally, a buck will shed its antlers in mid-to-late December. Would this buck now be categorized as an antlerless deer, or nonetheless thought-about a buck, based mostly on its intercourse? Also, what must be accomplished if antlers break off or detach when dragging, making it antlerless?
Mat Moulder, Windsor
A: The looking laws don’t distinguish between female and male deer as they do for moose, corresponding to a bull moose and cow. They distinguish between deer with a number of antlers which are at the least 7.5 cm in size (antlered) and deer that do not need antlers or which have antlers which are each lower than 7.5 cm in size (antlerless deer).
Therefore, a buck that has shed each antlers is taken into account to be an antlerless deer. If the antlers break off in the middle of dragging the carcass out of the bush, it is best to hold them as proof that the deer was antlered. An antlered deer that has simply misplaced its antlers will nonetheless clearly present the pedicles. While bucks typically lose their antlers in mid-to late-winter, hunters must be conscious that in late December hunts, there’s a risk {that a} deer may lose one in every of its antlers. While it’s uncommon that they’d lose each on the identical time, if one does come off, be additional cautious with the second — there’s a great probability that it is usually loosening. In the occasion each antlers do fall off, a name to the native MNRF enforcement unit is at all times useful.
ANSWER BY: David Critchlow, Provincial Enforcement Specialist, MNRF
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Originally revealed within the Nov.-Dec. 2021 situation of Ontario OUT of DOORS. Ask a CO can be an everyday function within the print version.
Please examine the newest Ontario looking and fishing laws summaries, as guidelines and laws can change.