Wood Buffalo National Park Game Regulations (SOR/78-830)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Wood Buffalo National Park Game Regulations.

PART IInterpretation and Application

Interpretation

• 2 (1) In these Regulations,

  big game

  big game means bison (buffalo), wapiti (elk), any member of the deer family whether known as caribou, moose, deer or otherwise, bear and any part of such animals; (gros gibier)

  certificate of registration

  certificate of registration means a certificate of registration issued pursuant to subsection 14(1); (certificat d’enregistrement)

  Director

  Director[Repealed, SOR/91-420, s. 1]

  dog

  dog means any member of the species Canis familiaris and any cross-breed thereof; (chien)

  firearm

  firearm means any weapon from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged and that is capable of causing bodily injury or death, and includes anything that can be adapted for use as a firearm; (arme à feu)

  former Regulations

  former Regulations means the Wood Buffalo Park Game Regulations, being P.C. 1954-1739 of November 18, 1954; (anciens règlements)

  fur bearing animal

  fur bearing animal means a beaver, coyote, fisher, fox, lynx, marten, mink, muskrat, otter, skunk, squirrel, weasel, ermine or wolverine or wolf and includes any part of such animal; (animaux à fourrure)

  game

  game means any wild mammal, amphibian, reptile or bird and includes any part of such mammal, amphibian, reptile or bird or any egg thereof; (gibier)

  general hunting permit

  general hunting permit means a permit issued pursuant to section 12; (permis général de chasse)

  group leader

  group leader means a member of a group who is named on a certificate of registration and who is duly chosen by a majority of group members for a trapping area to act on their behalf, or the holder of the certificate of registration if the holder is the only person named in the certificate; (chef du groupe)

  group member

  group member means a person who is named on a certificate of registration and includes the holder of the certificate; (membre du groupe)

  highway

  highway means a highway in the Park and includes a common or public highway, street, road, avenue, parkway, driveway or bridge intended for use by the general public for the passage of motor vehicles; (route)

  hunt

  hunt means to trap, chase, pursue, worry, follow after or on the trail of, search for, shoot at, stalk or lie in wait for, or any attempt made in any manner to capture, kill or injure any game whether or not the game is captured, killed or injured; (chasser)

  loaded

  loaded, with respect to a firearm, means the presence of a live shell or cartridge in the breach, chamber or attached magazine of the firearm; (chargé)

  migratory bird

  migratory bird has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, but excludes migratory birds raised in captivity that can readily be distinguished from wild migratory birds by their size, shape or plumage; (oiseau migrateur)

  Minister

  Minister[Repealed, SOR/91-420, s. 1]

  motor vehicle

  motor vehicle means any vehicle that is designed to be driven by any means other than by muscular power; (véhicule automobile)

  open season

  open season, with respect to game, means the period in each year during which it is permitted to hunt for that game; (saison de chasse)

  oversnow vehicle

  oversnow vehicle means a motor vehicle that is designed to run on tracks or skis or both and to operate on snow or ice; (autoneige)

  owner

  owner, with respect to a dog, means a person who owns, harbours, possesses or has control or custody of a dog; (propriétaire)

  Park

  Park means Wood Buffalo National Park; (parc)

  permit year

  permit year means the period from the first day of July in any year to the thirtieth day of June in the year next following; (année de permis)

  possession

  possession means possession as referred to in subsection 3(4) of the Criminal Code; (possession)

  resident

  resident means a person who makes his home or resides in Wood Buffalo National Park or within eighty kilometres of the Park, and for greater certainty includes a person who makes his home or resides in the settlement of Fort Smith, Fort Resolution or Hay River in the Northwest Territories or of Jean D’Or Prairie, Fox Lake, Fort Chipewyan, Embarras Portage or Fort Fitzgerald in the Province of Alberta; (résident)

  snare

  snare means a type of trap constructed of wire, leather, rope or other material and manipulated in such a way as to form a noose capable of capturing game; (collet)

  Superintendent

  Superintendent[Repealed, SOR/91-420, s. 1]

  trap

  trap, when used as a noun, means any structure, contrivance or device capable of catching and capturing game by affording entrance but not exit, and includes a snare; (piège)

  trapper’s cabin

  trapper’s cabin means a building or structure erected in a trapping area used as temporary living quarters by a person or persons actively engaged in trapping; (cabane de trappeur)

  trapper’s cabin permit

  trapper’s cabin permit means a permit issued pursuant to section 50; (permis de cabane de trappeur)

  trapping area

  trapping area means an area or location for hunting or trapping fur bearing animals described in a trapping permit or certificate or registration; (secteur de piégeage)

  trapping permit

  trapping permit means a permit issued pursuant to section 13. (permis de piégeage)

• (2) Where a period of time is expressed in these Regulations to be a period from one day to another, the period shall include the first and the last days so expressed.

Application

3 These Regulations apply only in Wood Buffalo National Park.

4 These Regulations do not apply to the superintendent or a Park Warden while he is engaged in the performance of his duties.

PART IIGeneral Prohibitions and Restrictions

5 No person shall

• (a) handle, disturb, destroy, remove or have in his possession any egg or nest of a wild bird, or

• (b) handle game, feed game or entice game to approach a person by setting out foodstuffs,

unless he does so under and in accordance with a permit issued pursuant to these Regulations.

• 6 (1) No person shall

  • (a) cut, spear, break, destroy or interfere with a beaver house or beaver dam;

  • (b) kill a female bear with cubs under one year of age except in defence of human life; or

  • (c) kill a bear cub under one year of age.

• (2) Every person who kills a bear referred to in paragraph (1)(b) in defence of human life shall report the killing to a park warden within 24 hours after the killing or, if circumstances do not permit a report to be made within that time period, as soon as possible thereafter.

• (3) No person shall hunt migratory birds unless the person hunts in accordance with these Regulations and the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022.

7 No person shall hunt, trap or discharge a firearm within eight hundred metres of the shoreline of Pine Lake from April 1 to October 31 in any year.

• 8 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall, for any purpose, enter the whooping crane nesting areas, described in Schedule I, during the period from April 15 to October 31 in each year.

• (2) The superintendent may grant permission to any person to enter an area referred to in subsection (1), where it is necessary for the protection of wildlife.

9 No person shall

• (a) hunt game except during an open season for that game as set out in Schedule II or in a notice made pursuant to subsection 56(2) or (3);

• (b) take or kill game in excess of the bag limits for that game as set out in Schedule II; or

• (c) have in his possession any live game or any game taken or killed in violation of these Regulations.

10 No person shall hunt or be in possession of any game specified in Schedule III.

• 11 (1) No person shall implement an agreement entered into with another person for assistance to trap game in a trapping area unless that agreement has been approved by the superintendent pursuant to subsection (2).

• (2) The superintendent shall approve an agreement referred to in subsection (1) where

  • (a) after discussion with the group leader for the trapping area and having regard to all the circumstances in that area, the superintendent believes on reasonable grounds that such an agreement for assistance will not seriously and adversely affect wildlife or the interests of other trappers in respect of that trapping area;

  • (b) the person requiring assistance holds a trapping permit;

  • (c) the person with whom the agreement is made holds a general hunting permit; and

  • (d) the person requiring assistance has demonstrated that an adequate livelihood from the trapping of game cannot be obtained without such assistance.

• (3) The superintendent may, before approving an agreement pursuant to subsection (2), establish conditions of approval to ensure that the agreement will not adversely affect wildlife or the interests of other trappers in respect of a trapping area.

• (4) Where an agreement is approved pursuant to subsection (2), the superintendent shall endorse the general hunting permit of the person with whom the agreement is made and shall inscribe on that general hunting permit the conditions of approval, if any, as described in subsection (3).

PART IIIGeneral Hunting Permits, Trapping Permits and Certificates of Registration

Issue of Permits and Certificates

• 12 (1) A general hunting permit authorizing the holder thereof to hunt game other than fur bearing animals may be issued by the superintendent to a resident who

  • (a) was eligible to hold a general hunting licence pursuant to the former Regulations; or

  • (b) is the spouse, or child over 16 years of age of

    • (i) a person who holds a general hunting permit, or

    • (ii) a person who held a general hunting permit or a general hunting licence prior to his death.

• (2) and (3) [Repealed, SOR/2018-250, s. 9]