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Ask a CO: On harvesting a sow

A reader asks whether or not it’s legal to shoot a sow with yearlings during the spring bear hunt while bear hunting.

Q: While bear hunting, we had a large sow with two newborn cubs come to our bait last spring. We watched them grow last summer and we did not harvest the sow in the fall, hoping to give the cubs the best chance to survive the winter. The sow and young ones, which are about 80 to 100 pounds, have returned to our bait this spring. Is it legal to shoot a sow with yearlings during the spring bear hunt? We could have taken her last fall even with the cubs. Chris Baer, Ottawa A: Yes. The legal definition of a cub is a bear born in the year of the hunt. Any bear born last year is no longer a cub and may be hunted this year. Answer by: David Critchlow Provincial Enforcement Specialist, MNR Originally published in the April 2018 issue of Ontario Out Of Doors For more big game, click here Click here for more outdoors news Watch on-demand videos anytime on OFAH Stream

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