Harvest Reporting
All harvests of moose, elk, and deer within the Settlement Area are to be reported to an AOO harvest monitor, ANR, or other AOO community designate within 24 hours. Use of the virtual harvest questionnaires below can achieve this monitoring requirement. Alternatively harvesters can call or email a completed pdf questionnaire to their local community office or ANR directly.
Algonquin Harvesters who are not successful in harvesting a moose, elk or deer, and/or are successful at harvesting another species during the 2021-2022 harvest season are encouraged to report their harvesting effort and observations through the same virtual questionnaires.
All information gathered will help inform future harvest planning.
Virtual Questionnaires:
To complete via online form, please click the desired questionnaire. Otherwise, download the PDF version at the accompanying link.
Online Forms:
- Moose Harvest Questionnaire
- Elk Harvest Questionnaire
- Deer Harvest Questionnaire
- Other Wildlife Harvest Questionnaire
PDF Forms:
- 2023 Elk Harvest Questionnaire
- 2023-2024 Deer Harvest Questionnaire
- 2023-2024 Moose Harvest Questionnaire
- 2023-2024 Other Wildlife Harvest Questionnaire
**Please Note**
2023 MNRF Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Program
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) will be conducting its annual chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance program throughout 2023. CWD is a fatal, untreatable brain disease that affects members of the deer family, including white-tailed deer, elk, moose, and caribou. It has not been found in wildlife in Ontario but has been detected in over 30 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Québec, and Saskatchewan).
The MNRF is committed to taking measures to minimize the potential introduction of CWD into Ontario and to keeping harvesters informed. Surveillance allows the MNRF to monitor wildlife populations and assess their health to allow for early CWD detection should the disease enter the province.
The following Wildlife Management Zones (WMUs) in the AOO Settlement Area have been identified as surveillance areas in 2023 from October to December: 51, 54, 55A, and 57.
Sampling will be done by roving MNRF crews during portions of the recreational gun seasons and using MNRF freezer depots through both the recreational bow and gun seasons. During portions of the recreational gun seasons, roving crews of MNRF wildlife research technicians will canvas the surveillance areas and visit local harvesters and hunt camps. Research technicians will ask the harvester’s permission to remove a small amount of tissue from the head area of the deer for analysis. Sampling will not prevent harvesters from consuming the meat or having the head mounted.
Harvesters missed by the roving crews are invited to take the head of their yearling or older deer to an MNRF freezer depot (antlers should be removed). If you cannot drop-off your sample within 48 hours, you can freeze the head and bring it to the drop-off depot frozen. Fawns are not sampled as it is difficult to detect CWD in animals less than 12 months old. Drop-off depots will be open from October until mid-December.
Harvesters submitting deer heads are asked to provide their name, phone number, and the date and general location of harvest. Each harvester who provides a tissue sample from a deer taken in the surveillance area, along with the required information, will be given a participation crest.
Samples provided by harvesters are critical in Ontario’s efforts to detect CWD. Locations where harvesters can drop off samples, safety precautions when field dressing, test results and more information about CWD can be found on the ministry’s CWD website at Ontario.ca/cwd. If you see a wild animal showing signs of CWD, report it to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at 1-866-673-4781, the MNRF’s Natural Resources Information and Support Centre at 1-800-667-1940, or by email at cwd@ontario.ca.
