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Nova Scotia is cancelling the annual Cape Breton moose hunt for the next three years due to concerns about the moose population.
The 2024 Cape Breton moose population survey estimated that there are only around 850 moose on the island, which is down from 1,500 the year prior.
The Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) typically issues 345 licences through a moose license lottery each spring.
By suspending the hunt DNRR hopes the population will be able to recover naturally to more sustainable numbers.
A chart showing how many Cape Breton moose hunting licenses were issued, and how many moose were harvested in recent years. Photo: DNRR.
“We recognize the importance of the moose population to both our cultural heritage and ecosystem. said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “This decision was not taken lightly, and we understand there will be disappointment,”.
In addition to the licensed hunt, Mi’kmaq groups are also putting a moratorium on their rights-based moose harvest.
“We are all extremely concerned with the decline in the moose population,” said Chief Gerald Toney, Co-Lead of Natural Resources, Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs. “There is little debate that harvesting moose this year could completely jeopardize the population and risk recovery,”
Prior to the 1940s, native moose became extinct in Cape Breton; 18 moose were introduced in the late 1940s to repopulate the species. The moose living there today are descendants of the moose reintroduced.
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