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Pheasant Shooting Preserve Regulations

made under subsection 113(1) of the

Wildlife Act

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 504

O.I.C. 88-404 (effective May 1, 1988), N.S. Reg. 89/1988

amended to O.I.C. 2015-239 (effective July 23, 2015), N.S. Reg. 288/2015



Table of Contents


Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
Click here to go to the text of the regulations.

 

Citation

Definitions

Types of licence/fee

Qualifications

Shooting preserve area

Register

Licence exemption

Open seasons

Bag limits

Hunting method and equipment

Terms/conditions of licence

Repeal of old regulations

Effective date of new regulations


 


Citation

1        These regulations may be cited as the Pheasant Shooting Preserve Regulations.


Definitions

2        In these regulations

 

                   (a)      “Act” means the Wildlife Act;

 

                   (b)     “Department” means the Department of Lands and Forests;

 

                   (c)      “Minister” means the Minister of Lands and Forests;

 

                   (d)     “pheasant” means Phasianus colchicus, commonly known as ring-necked pheasant;

 

                   (e)      “pheasant shooting preserve” means an area of land on which pen reared pheasants and other game birds approved by the Minister are kept or released for hunting by such persons as are permitted by the pheasant shooting preserve operator;

 

                   (f)      “pheasant shooting preserve operator” includes any person licensed under these regulations to operate a pheasant shooting preserve;

 

                   (g)     “pheasant shooting preserve operator’s licence” means a licence issued pursuant to these regulations conferring on the holder thereof the privilege of operating a pheasant shooting preserve;

 

                   (h)     “quail” means Colinus virginianus, commonly known as bobwhite quail.


Types of licence/fee

3        (1)    The Minister may issue a pheasant shooting preserve operator’s licence at the rate of $62.26 per year.

 

          (2)    No person shall operate a pheasant shooting preserve unless the person is the holder of a valid pheasant shooting preserve operator’s licence issued pursuant to these regulations.

 

          (3)    A licence issued pursuant to these regulations expires on the last day of March next following the date of issuance and may be renewed at the discretion of the Minister.


Qualifications

4        (1)    Any person eighteen years of age or over may apply for a pheasant shooting preserve operator’s licence.

 

          (2)    Every application shall be submitted in writing on a form prescribed by the Minister.

 

          (3)    No person shall keep or release game birds other than pheasants at a shooting preserve without the prior written approval of the Minister.

 

          (4)    A person who applies to operate or is operating a pheasant shooting preserve must own or have a legal right to use a minimum of 100 acres of land capable of providing adequate cover to released birds.


Shooting preserve area

5        (1)    No pheasant shooting preserve shall be located on Crown lands.

 

          (2)    An applicant for a pheasant shooting preserve licence must provide the Minister with

 

                   (a)      a plan of the lands proposed to be included in the reserve, including a boundary diagram and description of the lands, in a form acceptable to the Minister; and

 

                   (b)     proof that the applicant owns the lands or has written permission from the owner of the lands to use the lands for a pheasant shooting preserve.

 

          (3)    The cost of the plan shall be borne by the applicant.

 

          (4)    Any alterations to boundaries identified in a plan submitted under clause (2)(a) must be submitted in writing to the Minister and approved in writing by the Minister.

 

          (5)    [repealed]

 

          (6)    The perimeter boundary of a pheasant shooting preserve shall be posted with signs that are clearly visible in daylight under normal conditions and that are posted at a distance of not more than 150 feet apart.

 

          (7)    No pheasant shooting preserve shall be larger than 1000 acres.


Register

6        (1)    A pheasant shooting preserve operator shall

 

                   (a)      maintain a daily register showing the name and address of any person hunting on the pheasant shooting preserve; and

 

                   (b)     maintain a daily register showing the number of pheasants and other game birds approved by the Minister released each day and the number taken.

 

          (2)    [repealed]

 

          (3)    A pheasant shooting preserve operator shall at all reasonable times make records pertaining to the pheasant shooting preserve available for inspection upon request by a conservation officer.


Licence exemption

7        (1)    Any person who is the holder of a valid base licence, when permitted by a pheasant shooting preserve operator to hunt on a pheasant shooting preserve may hunt, take or kill or attempt to hunt, take or kill pheasants or other game birds approved by the Minister without a Small Game Hunting Licence or permit.

 

          (2)    Except as provided in these regulations, any person who hunts, takes or kills or attempts to hunt, take or kill wildlife on a pheasant shooting preserve is subject to the provisions of the Act and regulations made pursuant thereto.


Open seasons

8        (1)    The open season to take, hunt or kill pheasants or other game birds approved by the Minister on a pheasant shooting preserve is the period of time from the first day of August to the last day of March next following, both dates inclusive, and, except as provided in Section 11[10A] of the General Wildlife Regulations made under the Act, excluding Sundays.

 

          (2)    Despite subsection (1), any person who holds a valid Dog Field Trial Permit may hunt, take or kill pen reared pheasants or other game birds approved by the Minister during the operation of a dog field trial.


Bag limits

9        (1)    Bag limits and possession limits prescribed in the Small Game Hunting Regulations under the Act shall not apply to pheasants or other game birds approved by the Minister which are pen reared and released on a pheasant shooting preserve.

 

          (2)    A game animal other than one described in subsection (1) may be taken, hunted or killed by any person on a pheasant shooting preserve provided the person

 

                   (a)      holds a valid licence or permit issued under the Act or regulations to take the game animal; and

 

                   (b)     complies with the open season, bag limit and possession limits prescribed under the Act or regulations for the game animal.

 

          (3)    It shall be an offence for any person to violate any of the provisions outlined in subsection (2) while hunting on a pheasant shooting preserve.

 

          (4)    No pheasant shooting preserve operator shall take or allow to be taken on that operator’s pheasant shooting preserve more game birds than have been released on the preserve in that operating season.


Hunting method and equipment

10      (1)    No person shall remove from a pheasant shooting preserve a pheasant or other game bird approved by the Minister unless the game birds are identified with a band or tag bearing the licence number of the pheasant shooting preserve operator.

 

          (2)    No pheasant shooting preserve operator shall fail to provide a tag or band required under subsection (1).

 

          (3)    Except as provided in the Act or regulations, no person shall carry a firearm or bow on a pheasant shooting preserve or take, hunt or kill or attempt to take, hunt or kill any wildlife on a pheasant shooting preserve other than pen reared game birds released thereon.

 

          (4)    No pheasant shooting preserve operator shall fail

 

                   (a)      to keep the pheasant shooting preserve in a clean and sanitary condition;

 

                   (b)     to report to the Minister the outbreak of any disease affecting any pheasants or other game birds kept on the pheasant shooting preserve; and

 

                   (c)      to post a quarantine notice at the entrance to the pheasant shooting preserve when any contagious or infectious disease breaks out affecting pheasants or other game birds kept on the pheasant shooting preserve.

 

          (5)    A conservation officer may enter a pheasant shooting preserve to enforce the provisions of the Act and regulations, to inspect any wildlife kept or taken on the pheasant shooting preserve and to inspect facilities in which game birds are kept.

 

          (6)    A pheasant shooting preserve operator who releases quail must make every effort to re-capture unharvested quail by the use of a quail recall box, which is a holding cage that has 2 or more separate compartments and that, for purposes of attracting the unharvested quail, already has quail in at least 1 compartment.


Terms/conditions of licence

11      It shall be an offence for any person to contravene any term or condition contained in a licence issued under these regulations.

 

12      [repealed]


Repeal of old regulations

13      Regulations made by Order in Council 79-838 dated the 10th day of July, 1979, as amended, respecting pheasant hunting preserves are rescinded as and from the 1st day of May, 1988.


Effective date of new regulations

14      These regulations shall come into force on and after the 1st day of May, 1988.




 

 


Legislative History
Reference Tables

Pheasant Shooting Preserve Regulations

N.S. Reg. 89/1988

Wildlife Act

Note:  The information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.

Source Law

The current consolidation of the Pheasant Shooting Preserve Regulations made under the Wildlife Act includes all of the following regulations:

N.S.
Regulation

In force
date*

How in force

Royal Gazette
Part II Issue

89/1988

May 1, 1988

date specified

May 19, 1988

162/1991

Jul 15, 1991

date specified

Jul 26, 1991

108/1996

Jul 1, 1996

date specified

Jul 5, 1996

92/1997

Jul 1, 1997

date specified

Aug 15, 1997

161/2004

May 21, 2004

date specified

Jun 11, 2004

177/2007

Apr 1, 2007

date specified

Mar 30, 2007

232/2008

Apr 1, 2008

date specified

Apr 18, 2008

171/2009

Apr 1, 2009

date specified

Apr 14, 2009

147/2011

Apr 1, 2011

date specified

Apr 15, 2011

174/2013

Apr 1, 2013

date specified

Apr 12, 2013

174/2015

Apr 1, 2015

date specified

Apr 8, 2015

288/2015

Jul 23, 2015

date specified

Aug 7, 2015

The following regulations are not yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:

N.S.
Regulation

In force
date*

How in force

Royal Gazette
Part II Issue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by Provision

ad. = added
am. = amended

fc. = fee change
ra. = reassigned

rep. = repealed
rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

2(g) defn. of “pheasant shooting preserve operator’s licence”.........................

am. 161/2004

2(h) defn. of “quail”.........................

ad. 161/2004

3(1)...................................................

fc. 177/2007, 232/2008, 171/2009, 147/2011, 174/2013, 174/2015

4(4)...................................................

ad. 161/2004

5(2)...................................................

rs. 161/2004

5(3)...................................................

am. 161/2004

5(4)...................................................

rs. 161/2004

5(5)...................................................

rep. 161/2004

5(7)...................................................

ad. 161/2004

6(2)...................................................

am. 162/1991; rep. 108/1996

7(1)...................................................

am. 161/2004

8(1)...................................................

am. 162/1991, 288/2015

8(2)...................................................

am. 161/2004

9(2)...................................................

am. 161/2004

9(4)...................................................

ad. 161/2004

10(6).................................................

ad. 161/2004

12......................................................

rep. 92/1997

Note that changes to headings are not included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections:

 

Note

Effective
date

1

References to the Department and Minister of Lands and Forests should be read as references to the Department and Minister of Natural Resources in accordance with O.I.C. 1991-971 under the Public Service Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 376.

Sep 16, 1991

2

References to the Department and Minister of Lands and Forests should be read as references to the Department and Minister of Lands and Forestry in accordance with O.I.C. 2018-188 under the Public Service Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 376.

Jul 5, 2018

3

References to the Department and Minister of Lands and Forests should be read as references to the Department and Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables in accordance with O.I.C. 2021-210 under the Public Service Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 376.

Aug 31, 2021

Repealed and Superseded:

N.S.
Regulation

Title

In force
date

Repealed
date

116/1979

Pheasant Hunting Preserves Regulations

Jul 2, 1979

May 1, 1988

Note:  Only regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this table.  It may not reflect the entire history of regulations on this subject matter.

 

 

 


Webpage last updated: 10-05-2022