The province has rolled out details on how a new point-based system for moose tags will be used for the 2021 moose hunt.
Ontario announced earlier in 2020 that it would be changing its current moose tag allocation system, to one that uses points based on when a hunter last received an adult moose tag.
Significant changes to Ontario moose tags coming in 2021
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), which oversees the draw, will look at hunter’s data, going back to 1993.
A point will be awarded for each year a hunter applied for an adult moose tag, but did not receive one. The points will be awarded since the last time the hunter received an adult moose tag. Tags which were received through a transfer will count as being awarded a tag.
Tags that were transferred to another person will not reset that hunter’s point total.
Hunters will also receive an additional point for each year they applied to the tag draw for a fictitious wildlife unit, in order to receive priority for the following year.
Once a hunter claims a tag starting in 2021, their points will be reset to zero.
The MNRF said it does not know how many points will be required for the 2022 tag draw; those figures will be determined after the 2021 season.
Tag transfers will now only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, the MNRF said, including illness, injury or death of the tag holder or an immediate family member.
More information on the point-based system can be found here.