Applications Open for Antlerless Deer Draw; Age Requirement Lowered
Hunters have until July 31 to enter the annual antlerless deer draw. (Province of Nova Scotia / File)
Starting Monday, July 6, hunters can enter the draw for one of 6,025 antlerless deer hunting stamps for the 2026 season.
The antlerless deer draw helps achieve healthy and balanced deer populations by allowing licensed hunters to harvest female antlerless in areas where numbers are higher.
Stamps are available for five of the 10 deer management zones (zones 103, 104, 106, 108 and 110) in mainland Nova Scotia and both zones (111 and 112) in Cape Breton. Antlerless deer stamps are not required in the other mainland zones (101, 102, 105, 107 and 109), where hunters may harvest deer of either sex.
The minimum age for deer hunting has been lowered to 12 from 16. Youth hunters aged 12 to 15 are eligible to apply for the antlerless deer draw as long as they meet all licensing requirements when applying.
To be eligible to apply for an antlerless deer stamp, hunters must:
- be a resident of Nova Scotia
- have a valid Nova Scotia Wildlife Resources Card
- be eligible to purchase a deer hunting licence, including having a valid hunting certification(s) on their HuntNS profile before applying, such as Hunter Trained (HT), Bow Trained (B).
People can apply online through their HuntNS profile at https://huntns.ca/, by phone (toll-free: 1-833-302-0750) or by mail: Antlerless Deer Draw Application, Citizen Services Division, Business Registration Unit, Box 1529, 6N-1505 Barrington St., Halifax, N.S., B3J 2Y4.
The fee is $8.04 plus tax for electronic and phone applications and $11.70 plus tax for paper applications.
Applications close July 31, and results will be posted online August 18.
More information is available at: https://novascotia.ca/natr/hunt/pdf/hunting-and-furharvesting-summary-of-regulations.pdf
Quick Facts:
- an antlerless deer hunting stamp permits a hunter to harvest an antlerless deer in a specific deer management zone
- an antlerless stamp does not increase the bag limit for the applicable season; the bag limit is one deer
- an antlerless deer stamp must be accompanied by a general deer stamp or archery/muzzleloader stamp, which is available for purchase
- both the general or archery/muzzleloader deer stamp and antlerless deer stamp become valid when applied to a hunting licence with a wildlife habitat stamp
Additional Resources:
Deer management zones map: https://data.novascotia.ca/Lands-Forests-and-Wildlife/Deer-Management-Zones-Map/3vgv-umnr
Hunt NS – online services for hunters and furharvesters: https://huntns.ca/