Buy or sell wild animal hides or antlers (native to Ontario)
Rules for buying and selling the hides (untanned skin) of certain wild animals and naturally-shed antlers (“cast antlers”).
Effective July 1, 2013.
The law
You can buy or sell the hides and/or naturally-shed antlers of:
- black bear
- white-tailed deer
- American elk
- moose
You don’t need approval to buy or sell these hides or antlers, but in some instances you must keep a record of the sale or purchase.
Source law
This is a summary of the provincial laws. You can find a complete set of rules related to this activity in:
- Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997
- Ontario Regulation 666/98 (possess, buy or sell)
No record of sale needed
You don’t need approval or to keep a record of sale, if you are a:
- licensed hunter or trapper who sells the hide of an animal that he or she lawfully hunted or trapped
- licensed hunter or trapper who sells cast antlers
- person who sells only one hide or a single set of cast antlers in a year, if it was lawfully acquired
- person who finds or buys a hide or set of cast antlers for personal use
Record of sale needed
Everyone else must keep this information on the purchase or sale:
- the date of the transaction
- the names and addresses of all parties involved
- the number of hides or cast antlers
- the species of animals involved
- the number of the Notice of Possession registration (this number appears on the document an individual gets when they register to keep a dead wild animal)
- the trapper or hunter’s licence number and expiry date (when the hide or antlers are received from a trapper or hunter)
Taking hides or antlers outside Ontario
Cast antlers
You don’t need a permit to export cast antlers outside of Ontario. You should check with any state, province or country you plan to bring them into.
Hides
Ontario residents do not need an export permit.
People who aren’t Ontario residents need a Non-Resident Export Permit.
Black bears
Both residents and people who aren’t residents need a Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) permit – a document that allows you to export certain species outside the country.
CITES permit to export wildlife
Treated /converted hides and antlers
You don’t need to register or keep a bill of sale if you are buying or selling a hide or antlers that have been:
- treated (e.g., if a hide is tanned)
- converted to another form (e.g., a handcrafted item, such as a piece of art)
Get a non-resident export permit
To get this permit, visit:
- a ServiceOntario Centre
- an independent licence-issuer (e.g., local hunting supply store or retailer)