Ontario trapping rules updated: new beaver damage authorization, gender-neutral language, and firearm clarifications

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

Several changes are being made to Ontario's trapping regulation in two stages. First, the Minister will gain authority to issue special authorizations allowing licensed trappers to harass, capture, or kill beaver outside the normal open season when beaver are causing damage to property or infrastructure that cannot be addressed through other means under the Act — this applies to specified Crown land or, with written permission, other land. Second, a series of housekeeping amendments replace gendered pronouns ("he or she," "his or her") with gender-neutral language throughout the regulation, without changing any substantive rights or obligations. Third, the nighttime firearm rules for farmers dispatching trapped furbearing mammals are reworded to refer to any firearm that "exclusively uses rim-fire cartridges" rather than specifically a "rim-fire rifle," which may affect what firearms qualify. Trappers, head trappers, apprentice trappers, and farmers who trap should review the updated conditions to ensure their practices remain compliant.

Who this affects: licensed trappers · head trappers · apprentice or junior trappers · farmers who trap furbearing mammals · fur dealers and licence holders