Proposals to reduce regulatory and administrative burden, and enable increased economic opportunities for licensed trappers and fur dealers

Trapping is culturally significant for many people and part of Ontario’s heritage.  Trappers play an important role in managing furbearer populations and humanely removing animals that may impact private property, communities and critical infrastructure.  

The Ontario government is committed to streamlining and eliminating unnecessary burden on small businesses. 

We are proposing changes that will reduce regulatory and administrative burdens and enable increased economic opportunities for licensed trappers and fur dealers in Ontario. The proposed changes would enable sale of beaver castoreum by fur dealers, reduce reporting requirements for fur dealers, provide additional tools for trappers to humanely dispatch furbearing mammals, and provide trappers with additional opportunities to protect dwellings and critical infrastructure from beaver.  These proposals support humane trapping practices and provide additional opportunities for trappers to manage conflicts with wildlife.

We are proposing the following changes:

1. Expand business opportunities for licensed fur dealers

• Castoreum is a byproduct from lawfully trapped beaver that has important applications in the food (e.g. flavoring) and perfume industry.  The value and marketability of castoreum is dependent on it remaining in a raw untreated form.
• Licensed fur dealers are the primary individuals who would purchase castoreum from trappers and then resell to other fur dealers or export to the global market in the same raw untreated form.
• Existing regulations restrict the selling of raw beaver castoreum by licensed fur dealers.
• We are proposing changes to regulations that would enable licensed fur dealers to lawfully sell raw castoreum and thereby provide economic benefits to small business fur dealers in Ontario.

2. Reduce reporting burden for licensed fur dealers

• Licensed fur dealers are required to report activities carried out under the authority of their licence and submit these reports to the ministry each year.
• Fur dealer reports are recognized as a key regulatory burden experienced by these small businesses.
• We are proposing changes that would remove the requirement for fur dealers to submit a report to the ministry, subject to certain requirements:
  • Fur dealers would be required to keep records on file for five years and make those records available to the ministry upon request.
  • The ministry would retain the ability to add conditions to a licence, as needed, to address specific compliance issues.

3. Burden reduction for trappers dispatching lawfully trapped furbearers after dark

• Many trappers maintain full-time or part-time jobs and supplement their income with trapping. This often requires licensed trappers to check their traps as it becomes dark and requires them to humanely dispatch legally trapped furbearers after dark.
• Dispatch of live-trapped furbearing mammals by firearm is considered the most humane method available to trappers.
• Current regulations allow trappers to humanely dispatch lawfully trapped furbearing mammals after dark with a rim-fire rifle.
• Many trappers are federally authorized to carry a pistol firearm in the course of their trapping activities/business for dispatching furbearing mammals.
• We are proposing changes that would enable trappers to humanely dispatch lawfully trapped furbearers after dark with any rim-fire caliber firearm (including a rifle or a federally authorized pistol firearm).

• This proposed change supports humane trapping practices, while reducing barriers for licensed trappers.

4. Enable actions for protecting infrastructure on Crown land by trappers

• Beaver dam building activity, and the resulting alterations to surface water levels in streams, ponds, and lakes can cause hazards to both private property, and infrastructure on Crown land (e.g. forest access roads).
• The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 provides tools for people to address threats to private property when a beaver is damaging or about to damage a person’s property.
• There are also mechanisms enabling a person to alter, damage or destroy a beaver dam located on Crown land if it is threatening their property.
• It is currently illegal to trap beaver on Crown land during the closed season (e.g., May – August), even where a beaver is threatening private property or critical infrastructure on Crown land.
• We are proposing changes that would enable licensed trappers to trap beaver on Crown land during the closed season in protection of property situations or to protect infrastructure. The ministry will develop beaver management guidance to support trappers in proactively addressing threats to property or infrastructure before it becomes an immediate issue.
• All existing requirements under the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards would apply.

Regulatory impact analysis

The environmental consequences of the proposed regulatory changes are anticipated to be minimal.  Currently, regulations require trappers to harvest beavers only during the prescribed open season and in accordance with harvest quotas.  There are exceptions to the above requirements where beavers are damaging (or about to damage) private property. In these cases a trapper or landowner can remove the beaver in protection of property, but only if it is on their private property. The proposed regulatory changes would provide additional regulatory tools for trappers so that they can remove a beaver that is damaging (or about to damage) private property through damming activities that are not located on the private land.  The proposal would also enable trappers to remove beavers in protection of critical infrastructure (e.g., provincial roads and highways or railways) when the beaver and the dam are on Crown (public) land. The environmental consequences are anticipated to be minimal because the number of beaver trapped in these situations are generally animals that would otherwise be harvested according to established quotas during the open season. 

The socio-economic consequences of the proposals are anticipated to be positive. The proposal involves removing regulatory requirements for fur dealers to submit annual reports to the government which would help reduce burden on these small businesses.  The proposed changes to enable the sale of castoreum by licensed fur dealers will provide additional economic opportunities for fur dealers for a product that would otherwise be a wasted by-product from lawfully harvested beaver.  The proposed changes that enable trappers to remove nuisance beaver from Crown land during the closed season will provide positive economic opportunities for trappers through the additional employment opportunities available to address nuisance beaver situations on Crown land.