The Ontario government has announced amendments to the Hunting
Regulation (O Reg 665/98, made under the Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Act, 1997) that will, among other changes,
prohibit the hunting of snapping turtles in the province.
In its original posting to the Environmental Registry (the
"Registry") the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Forestry ("MNRF")
proposed restricting the snapping turtle hunt. However, as
outlined in the regulatory decision announcement
posted to the Registry on March 31, 2017, the MNRF ultimately
decided instead to introduce a complete ban.
The province's initial proposal on the Registry attracted
thousands of comments from the public. The final regulatory
decision notes that there was "significant opposition" to
maintaining any kind of open hunting season for snapping turtles,
and this seems to have influenced the decision to ban the practice
altogether.
