Hunter Education Course Goes Online
Nova Scotians who want to take up hunting can now go online to take the required hunter education course. The interactive course provides improved training, greater convenience, and is easier to follow.
"Government is helping new hunters by modernizing the way safe hunting practices are taught," said Charlie Parker, Minister of Natural Resources. "This online course delivers a better education product in a more accessible way."
Until now, new hunters were required to study a course manual posted online and travel to a Department of Natural Resources regional office to write course tests in person, or take the course and tests in a classroom setting. The process is made simpler by the web-based, interactive course and tests that are completed and submitted online. A new hunter taking the online course must appear in person at a government office only when writing the final exam.
The online course and a description of other changes affecting new hunters are available at www.gov.ns.ca/natr/hunt .
The online course is for ages 14 and up. It has interactive exercises with animated graphics, audio, and program memory that tracks student progress, allowing for stops and starts so students can study at their own speed. Classroom courses will be required for 12- and 13 year-old students and will continue to be an option for hunters who prefer that method of learning.
Hunters can now also pay for and obtain their Nova Scotia wildlife resources card online or through phone options. The card certifies that the hunter successfully completed the hunter education course and allows them to apply for a hunting licence. The hunter must also have a federally-regulated licence to acquire and use a firearm. The fee for the wildlife resources card is $7.14.
A fee of $25 for the online hunter education course will go to huntercourse.com, the company contracted by the Department of Natural Resources to provide the course.
The improvements in hunter education complement a course for crossbow users launched in 2009.