Small or Upland Game Seasons and Bag Limits


Ring-necked Pheasant (Male) Hunting Season

November 1 to December 15, excluding Sundays, in the counties of Annapolis, Kings and Hants.

October 1 to December 15, excluding Sundays, in all other counties of the province.

Bag Limit Two (2) male ring-necked pheasants per day, with a possession limit after the first day of four (4) birds at any time.

Persons transporting a ring-necked pheasant must leave at least one fully feathered wing and the tail attached to the bird. This does not apply to legally tagged pheasants taken from a licenced Pheasant Shooting Preserve.

A Small Game Hunting Licence is required to hunt ring-necked pheasants.



Pheasant Preserve Hunting Season

August 1 to March 31, excluding Sundays

No Bag Limit

A base licence is required to shoot pheasants or quail on a licenced pheasant shooting preserve. A Small Game Hunting Licence is required to shoot other small game on a preserve. No person is to remove a pheasant from a preserve unless the game bird(s) are identified with a band or tag bearing the licence number of the pheasant shooting preserve operator.

Ruffed Grouse

October 1 to December 31, excluding Sundays Bag Limit Five (5) per day, with possession limit after the first day of ten (10) at any time.

A Small Game Hunting Licence is required.

Rabbit (Snowshoe Hare)

No Bag Limit. A Small Game Licence is not required except by non-residents. However, a Wildlife Habitat Stamp is required by all persons hunting and/or snaring rabbits.

Hunting Season
November 1 to the last day of February,excluding Sundays. A Small Game Licence is not required except by non-residents. However, a Wildlife Habitat Stamp is required by all persons hunting and/or snaring rabbits. The use of dogs to hunt snowshoe hare is prohibited from November 1 to November 15 inclusive.

Snaring Season
November 1 to the last day of February, including Sundays

Hungarian Partridge

No open hunting season.