Sunday hunting now allowed for large game

Posted By Herald-Leader Staff

Updated 15 days ago

A few new changes have been made to hunting regulations for the 2009 season, including one that's been in the works for a number of years to give hunters even more opportunities to get out.

Sunday hunting for big game now includes all Game Hunting Areas (GHAs) in the province for the first time, although hunters are still advised to be aware of by-laws in their respective municipalities.

Sunday hunting was first introduced in 1993 for a handful of GHAs, and has expanded a few times to include more areas of the province since. It's been permitted for game birds across all of Manitoba since 2001.

"It's always something we wanted to introduce slowly in a progression throughout Manitoba," said Manitoba Conservation wildlife allocation manager Brian Hagglund. "For the last couple of years we've been consulting with the rural municipalities where Sunday hunting wasn't allowed. Overall, the majority of them supported it, so that's why we went ahead and introduced it province-wide.

"Basically, if you look at it, for people who work Monday to Friday, their hunting opportunities are doubled. All through the previous areas of the province where we'd implemented it, I'd never really had any concerns expressed to me about Sunday big game hunting at all. The transition has gone over smooth."

While the new regulations will allow for more chances to get out hunting, it's also expected to give Manitoba businesses to cash in a little bit as well.

"Saskatchewan just went province-wide with Sunday hunting this year and did a big economic analysis," explained Hagglund. "Even just by adding that one day of hunting to the province, they figure they're increasing their revenue by $9 million. That's huge."

Hagglund noted that hunters should be aware of an increase in disease sampling for 2009, as Manitoba Conservation tries to ensure Manitoba's deer and elk populations remain healthy.

"Basically the entire west side of the province, from north of The Pas all the way down to south of Riding Mountain, for all of those game hunting areas it's mandatory for hunters to turn in samples of deer. That's an important change, because it's expanded quite a bit for this year," he said.

Manitoba Conservation has been concerned with the numbers of Moose population in some areas, and the season has been cancelled in the Whiteshell Provincial Park.

"We did an aerial survey in late February last year, and there were very, very few moose in the area," said Hagglund. "Our aerial surveys will continue, and we're focusing on moose again this year."

Another change for this year comes in the availability of the second deer licence, which has been eliminated in some GHAs.

"We know that there's pockets of high deer numbers in the Western region, but overall, we feel that the population has decreased to the point where we need to take away the second deer licence," said Hagglund.

Information on all changes for 2009, regulations and season dates can all be found in your Manitoba Hunting Guide.

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