Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 41

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997

S.O. 1997, CHAPTER 41

Consolidation Period: From June 8, 2023 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2023, c. 9, Sched. 14.

CONTENTS

PART I
INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

Interpretation

1 (1) In this Act,

“animal” means a member of the class Mammalia (mammals), Aves (birds), Reptilia (reptiles) or Amphibia (amphibians), but does not include a human being; (“animal”)

“aquaculture” means the breeding or husbandry of fish, and the verb “culture” has, with respect to fish, a corresponding meaning; (“pisciculture”)

“big game” means black bear, woodland caribou, white-tailed deer, American elk or moose; (“gros gibier”)

“boat” includes a motorboat, rowboat, canoe, punt, sailboat or raft; (“bateau”)

“body-gripping trap” means a device designed to capture or kill an animal by seizing and holding it by a part of its body, and includes a spring trap, steel trap, gin, deadfall, snare or leghold trap but does not include a device designed to capture or kill a mouse or rat; (“piège à mâchoires”)

“buy or sell” includes lease, barter or trade for consideration, offer to buy, sell, lease, barter or trade for consideration, or possess for the purpose of buying, selling, leasing, bartering or trading for consideration, and “buying or selling” has a corresponding meaning; (“acheter ou vendre”)

“closed season” means, with respect to a species, the period during which hunting, trapping or fishing for that species is not permitted; (“période de fermeture”)

“commercial fish net” means a gill net, hoop net, pound net, seine net, trap net, trawl net, trammel net, roll net, hook line or any other net prescribed by the regulations; (“filet de pêche commerciale”)

“conveyance” means a vehicle, boat, or aircraft; (“moyen de transport”)

“document” means anything recorded on paper or in electronic, photographic or other form; (“document”)

“domestic animal” means an animal that belongs to a species that is not wild by nature; (“animal domestique”)

“farmed animal” means a white-tailed deer, American elk, fisher, fox, lynx, marten, mink, raccoon or member of another species prescribed by the regulations that is being kept in captivity in Ontario for the purpose of commercial propagation or the commercial production of meat, hides, pelts, antler products or other products; (“animal d’élevage”)

“farmer” means a person whose chief occupation is farming and,

(a) who is living upon and tilling his or her own land, or land to the possession of which he or she is for the time being entitled, or

(b) who is a settler engaged in clearing land for the purpose of bringing it to a state of cultivation; (“exploitant agricole”)

“firearm” includes an air gun, pellet gun, bow or crossbow; (“arme à feu”)

“fish” has the same meaning as in the Fisheries Act (Canada); (“poisson”)

“furbearing mammal” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of furbearing mammal; (“mammifère à fourrure”)

“game amphibian” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of game amphibian; (“amphibien gibier”)

“game bird” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of game bird; (“gibier à plume”)

“game bird hunting preserve” means an area in which game birds propagated under a licence are released for hunting purposes; (“réserve de chasse au gibier à plume”)

“game mammal” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of game mammal; (“mammifère gibier”)

“game reptile” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of game reptile; (“reptile gibier”)

“game wildlife” means a furbearing mammal, game amphibian, game bird, game mammal or game reptile; (“gibier sauvage”)

“hunting” includes,

(a) lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of, pursuing, chasing or shooting at wildlife, whether or not the wildlife is killed, injured, captured or harassed, or

(b) capturing or harassing wildlife,

except that “hunting” does not include,

(c) trapping, or

(d) lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of or pursuing wildlife for a purpose other than attempting to kill, injure, capture or harass it, unless the wildlife is killed, injured, captured or harassed as a result,

and “hunt” and “hunter” have corresponding meanings; (“chasse”, “chasser”, “chasseur”)

“licence” means a licence or permit issued under this Act, and includes any document or thing deemed to be a licence by the regulations; (“permis”)

“migratory bird” has the same meaning as in the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (Canada); (“oiseau migrateur”)

“Minister” means the Minister of Natural Resources; (“ministre”)

“Ministry” means the Ministry of Natural Resources; (“ministère”)

“motorboat” means a boat with a motor that is attached to the boat and that is capable of being used as a means of propulsion, and includes any floating object being towed by a motorboat; (“bateau à moteur”)

“non-resident” means a person who is not a resident; (“non-résident”)

“Ontario Fishery Regulations” means the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007 made under the Fisheries Act (Canada) and any other regulations made under that Act that apply in Ontario and that are prescribed by the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements de la pêche en Ontario”)

“open season” means, with respect to a species, the period during which hunting, trapping or fishing for that species is permitted; (“saison de chasse”, “saison de pêche”)

“pelt” means the untanned skin of a furbearing mammal, whether or not the skin is on a carcass; (“peau”)

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“resident” means a person whose primary residence is Ontario and who has actually resided in Ontario for a period of at least six months during the 12 months preceding the day that residence becomes material under this Act, and includes a person who belongs to a class of persons deemed to be residents by the regulations; (“résident”)

“snare” means a device for the capturing of animals by a noose; (“collet”)

“specially protected amphibian” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of specially protected amphibian; (“amphibien spécialement protégé”)

“specially protected bird” means a specially protected raptor or a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of specially protected bird; (“oiseau spécialement protégé”)

“specially protected invertebrate” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of specially protected invertebrate; (“invertébré spécialement protégé”)

“specially protected mammal” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of specially protected mammal; (“mammifère spécialement protégé”)

“specially protected raptor” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of specially protected raptor; (“rapace spécialement protégé”)

“specially protected reptile” means a member of a species prescribed by the regulations as a species of specially protected reptile; (“reptile spécialement protégé”)

“specially protected wildlife” means a specially protected amphibian, specially protected bird, specially protected invertebrate, specially protected mammal or specially protected reptile; (“animal sauvage spécialement protégé”)

Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, subsection 1 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following definition: (See: 2023, c. 9, Sched. 14, s. 1)

“train and trial area” means an area in which wildlife is enclosed for the purpose of teaching dogs hunting skills or testing their hunting skills; (“zone de dressage et d’épreuves”)

“transport” includes, with respect to a thing, taking the thing from one place to another, causing the thing to be taken from one place to another or possessing the thing for the purpose of taking it or causing it to be taken from one place to another; (“transporter”, “transport”)

“trap” means a body-gripping trap, box trap, cage trap or net used to capture an animal or invertebrate, and “trapping” “trapper” and the verb “trap” have corresponding meanings; (“piège”)

“vehicle” means any kind of vehicle that is driven, propelled or drawn on land or ice by any kind of power, including muscular power, and includes the rolling stock of a railway; (“véhicule”)

“wildlife” means an animal that belongs to a species that is wild by nature, and includes game wildlife and specially protected wildlife; (“animal sauvage”)

“wildlife disease” means a disease or condition impacting wildlife caused by an infectious agent, including but not limited to a virus, prion, bacterium, protozoan, viroid, fungus or metazoan parasite. (“maladie des animaux sauvages”) 1997, c. 41, s. 1 (1); 2009, c. 33, Sched. 22, s. 2 (1-4); 2017, c. 2, Sched. 14, s. 4 (1-3); 2019, c. 14, Sched. 15, s. 39.

Interpretation – animal, invertebrate or fish

(2) A reference in this Act to an animal, invertebrate or fish, or to any word or expression that includes an animal, invertebrate or fish,

(a) includes a reference to the animal, invertebrate or fish, whether alive or dead;

(b) includes a reference to the whole or any part of the animal, invertebrate or fish;

(c) includes a reference to the animal, invertebrate or fish at any stage of its development, unless it is inside the body of its parent; and

(d) includes a reference to the animal, invertebrate or fish, whether or not it originated in Ontario. 1997, c. 41, s. 1 (2).

Interpretation – gametes

(3) A reference in Part IV, V or VIII to an animal, invertebrate or fish, or to any word or expression that includes an animal, invertebrate or fish, includes a reference to its gamete. 1997, c. 41, s. 1 (3).

Interpretation – species

(4) A reference in this Act to a species includes a reference to any subspecies of the species and to any other lower taxonomic classification of...