. (updated 27th Oct 2023)
The 2023 Norfolk County Pheasant and Rabbit licences are currently available at all four of the venders listed below,
so there’s no excuse to not go and get yours now.
The 2023 Pheasant season
The Norfolk Pheasant hunting season is about to begin. The 2023 Pheasant season runs from September 25th to December 31st.
Remember that for you to hunt either Pheasants or Rabbits in Norfolk County you need a Norfolk County Pheasant and Rabbit Municipal Licence in addition to the MNR small game licence on your outdoors card.
The biggest change to the 2023 system is that Eli’s gun shop in Simcoe is closing down and so they WILL NOT be selling licences this year.
The good news is that you do not have to go far to get your licence. Canadian Tire in Simcoe,just 2km to east of Eli’s store, will now be selling the licences.
Another bit of good news is that Triggers and Bows in Burford will also be selling the licences.
So now you have four convenient places to get your licence. (See the addresses of the licence retailers below)
Judging by the number of positive comments from hunters it certainly looked like the 2022 Norfolk County Pheasant release was yet again a hit and a big success with many commenting on the great condition of the birds. The 2022 license sales were about the same as in 2021 and that simply meant lots of money is available for good numbers of Pheasants to be released again in 2023. We would like to heartily thank all of you for buying your Pheasant hunting permits in 2022 and for the positive comments made to both our members and also for those comments put on our facebook page. Without you buying your licence, this program wouldn’t work, so please encourage everyone you know to buy a licence.
We are already looking forward to the start of the 2023 season which is only weeks away.
History
In 2020 the Norfolk County Council, as part of the recent cost cutting efforts, was going to axe the Pheasant Release program, the good news is the Long Point Area Fish and Game Club will again be helping with the logistical side of it for the County, the County will still run the program but the Long Point Fish and Game Club will be helping the County to reduce its costs by helping with the administration and doing all the releases ourselves. (Link to the Pheasant release article in the OFAH’s magazine)
The Norfolk County Pheasant release program has been operating since the 70’s and the Club was not going to let this important program run by the Norfolk County lapse without a fight.
Headed by our President Jim Greenwood, several deputations and meetings were made to Norfolk Council with the result that the Council passed a motion to allow the Club to help them reduce its costs by helping with logistics, the County will still be in control of the program (as it is their by-law). The Long Point Area Fish and Game Club has been helping with the release of some of the Pheasants for many years, but now, the Club will now be looking after all of the Pheasant releases, we will also help the County to administer the handling and the sales of the municipal licenses.
A Norfolk County “PHEASANT AND RABBIT MUNICIPAL LICENSE” is REQUIRED by all hunters who wish to hunt Pheasants or Rabbits in Norfolk County. This County License is required in addition to your MNRF small game hunting license
Ontario Wildlife Management Unit 90 seasons and limits apply as well as all other requirements as listed in the regulations.
Consult the current Hunting Regulations Summary for details (https://www.ontario.ca/document/ontario-hunting-regulations-summary)
Our Club has coordinated with four local businesses and they have agreed to be the vendors for 2023 and will sell the Norfolk County Pheasant and Rabbit licenses, these vendors now have the licenses and they can be bought from them whenever you are want them.
The license being issued is a paper license as was the case last year, not the plastic card with a sticker as of earlier past years, you need to carry this license with you when hunting.
All the money collected from the license fee will be used next year to buy the Pheasants for the following years release, none of the money is used for administration.
PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL NOTE –
The Norfolk County Licenses are NOT available from the Norfolk County Offices. They will only redirect you to these four vendors listed below.
H. Stilwell’s Guns & Ammo in Frogmore – ph: 519-875-3321,
960 Norfolk County Road 28, Frogmore, ON, N0E 1G0 (halfway between Frogmore and Fairground)
Caffrey Hardware and Electric Ltd in Delhi – ph: 519-582-2030,
122 King Street, Delhi, N4B 1X8 (corner of King and Highway 3 at the traffic lights)
Canadian Tire (Simcoe) – ph: 519-426-1513,
142 Queensway East, Simcoe, N3Y 4Y7 (east end of Queensway, opposite the Canadian Superstore)
Triggers and Bows in Burford – ph: 519-449-1001,
340 Bishopsgate Road, Burford, N0E 1A0 (0.5km south of Bishopsgate on CR 16)
The “Norfolk County Pheasant and Rabbit Licenses” are not available for purchase at any other location other than at these four vendors.
The Long Point Area Fish and Game Club has been helping Norfolk County with the release of Pheasants at select sites across the county since at least the early 1990’s.
All Pheasant releases are located on public lands in Norfolk County. These lands are owned by either Norfolk County or Long Point Region Conservation Authority and are open to the public for Pheasant and Rabbit hunting once you have bought the license (see above).
The release schedule is kept strictly confidential (so please don’t ask). Releases are done most weeks during the open season on varying days and times of day. The number of birds released per site varies on each release and not all sites may receive birds on that particular release. This is done to give all hunters an equal opportunity of a successful harvest.
The Pheasants are released at intervals throughout the hunt period according to the confidential release schedule. Several members of the Long Point Area Fish and Game Club put their names on a list at one of the club meetings and they are called upon by the coordinator to help out as needed, each release has 2-3 of our members helping out to make each release easier. The pheasants are picked up from the breeder and transported in cages to the release sites with a varying number of pheasants being released at each site on the given release day. Pheasants are usually released each week but the day varies to ensure fairness to all hunters, the time on the day of the release varies as well.
The 20232 releases started around the beginning of the hunting season.
Both cock and hen pheasants are released.
You must have a Norfolk County Rabbit and Pheasant licence to hunt rabbits or pheasants in Norfolk County.
Pheasant hunting season is from September 25th to December 31st 2023
The daily hunting limit is 3 (three) of either sex
The possesion limit is 10 (ten) of either sex
The Rabbit season goes until the end of February
Note:-
The sites used have not changed since last year.
Pheasant sites are used on a “first come first served” basis so please to ensure the safety of all, if there’s already someone at that site please go to a different site and don’t enter the site behind them as they won’t know you are there.
For a bit of help with finding the Pheasant release sites, the 911 numbers of each of the release sites are as follows
Area 1 – Becket Anderson Lee (911 # – 726 2nd Concession STR)
Area 2 – Twin Gullies (911 # – 2355 Norfolk County Road 45)
Area 3 – SW3 County Woodlot (911 # – 921 East 1/4 Line, South Walsingham)
Area 4 – Walsingham Flats (911 # – 901 6th Concession, South Walsingham)
Area 5 – Rowan Mills (911 # – 3rd Concession, South Walsingham, Just over the bridge on the west side of the river, south side of the road)
Area 6 – C9 County Woodlot (911 # – 856 Charlotteville Road 2)
Area 7 – C10 County Woodlot (911 # – 1120 Charlotteville Road 2)
Area 8 – C1 County Woodlot (911 # – 237 Charlotteville Road 10)
Area 9 – Pow Wetland (911 # -Just east of #177 Concession 7, Townsend)
Have fun, be courteous to other hunters and to the public, and above all – be safe (and enjoy the Pheasant season)
