Possession Limit

[Dolomite]

Just a quick question for everyone out there. I tried to do a search on this and didn't really find an answer to my question.

Daily bag limit for ducks is 8, possession limit is twice that (16). In the regs it says:

"The possession limit for all migratory game birds at all times
(including while hunting, returning from hunting or at a residence) is two
times the daily limit."

So, I know the regs isn't the bible and open to all types of interpretation, so the thing i'm a little unclear on is what if you decide to eat some ducks during the season? Does that mean you're allowed to bring down MORE than 16 ducks in one season?

Not to be accusatory (is that a word) but looking at some pictures and reports, it sure seems like some people have a heck of a lot more than 16 ducks in their possession. But then again, I don't know the situation.

thanks

[Philcott]

Yes. Just can't be in possession of more than 16 at any one time.

[shotgunjohn]

Three hunters in my family=48.
Plus we eat a lot fresh.
Plus we give some away.
So that's our situation:)

[lorneparker1]

We pluck very few. we de bone most and they get made into pepperoni along with everything else in the freezer. Once processed into meat sticks reset the counter. I like to kill stuff

Lorne

[Dutch]

I believe the key word is processed.If they are plucked and cleaned they have been processed and therefore are not included in your possesion limit.Same as grouse that are now no longer in transit but are at your residence need not have wings attached as they are processed.We had this discussion many times at our club meetings and that was the explanation given by ahem a legal person. not wanting to call him a lawyer .

[Dolomite]

I like to kill stuff
Lorne

Ditto

Thanks for the clarification. Looks like hunting ducks is gonna last just that much longer this year.

[lorneparker1]

I believe the key word is processed.If they are plucked and cleaned they have been processed and therefore are not included in your possesion limit.Same as grouse that are now no longer in transit but are at your residence need not have wings attached as they are processed.We had this discussion many times at our club meetings and that was the explanation given by ahem a legal person. not wanting to call him a lawyer .

I am no expert, so take it for what its worth, But im not sure i would want to have over 16 plucked ducks in my freezer at one time. However, i am totaly comfortable having 200lbs of pepperonis.

Lorne

[Freshtracks]

"The possession limit for all migratory game birds at all times
(including while hunting, returning from hunting or at a residence) is two
times the daily limit."

This came in years ago ... cleaned, frozen ducks are not processed, sausage ect is. SGJ and LP1 covered it best.

[Dutch]

Sorry disagree then this would cover fish and all game,so 16 ducks are in my freezer plucked and cleaned are they mine because i have a license? What about the 8, I gave to the neighbour he doen't have a license is he guilty? Doesn't wash ,ask the CO I have he is worried about the 16 hanging in the garage and the limit in the pickup as well.

[Freshtracks]

Sorry disagree then this would cover fish and all game,so 16 ducks are in my freezer plucked and cleaned are they mine because i have a license? What about the 8, I gave to the neighbour he doen't have a license is he guilty? Doesn't wash ,ask the CO I have he is worried about the 16 hanging in the garage and the limit in the pickup as well.

I just quoted the synopsis ... under possession limits for migratory birds ... it doesn't read this anywhere for fish and other game. The 8 for your neighbour ??? good question for a CO.

[lorneparker1]

Sorry disagree then this would cover fish and all game,so 16 ducks are in my freezer plucked and cleaned are they mine because i have a license? What about the 8, I gave to the neighbour he doen't have a license is he guilty? Doesn't wash ,ask the CO I have he is worried about the 16 hanging in the garage and the limit in the pickup as well.
Well if you have 16 in your freezer I think it would be tough to argue they aren't yours. The 8 at your neighbors isn't what we are talking about. We are talking how many YOU have. Like most game laws I'm sure it would depend on the CO, but if you have more then 16 in your freezer it would be tough not to fine you according to the synopsis. However, if a CO is In your freezer you more then likely have bigger problems then a few ducks.

[Pioneerman]

The way it was explained to me many years ago this ruling is for when you go hunting for a long weekend or longer let's say and you are allowed your limit every day, but you can only have a limit of two days with you in the field or your vehicle. Your freezer means nothing from what I understand it is just so you don't get stopped and say you had 5 days limit with you and you might have only been out three days, but you could say you were out the amount of days needed to cover your butt.

You are only allowed one moose per year, but that doesn't mean your freezer has to be empty before you take another one the following year, but you better not have two in your truck lol

[Crazy_Farmer]

Waterfowl is completely different then big game when it comes to limits. It's a federal matter versus provincial. Some provinces have raised the possession limit from 2-3 daily limits but it's still more a federal matter then provincial.

By the letter of the law, you would not want 16+1 plucked ducks in your freezer if you lived alone. Anyone in your household can be gifted birds but the key term is processed.

There has been lots of people over the years caught with over their possession limit in their freezers across north America. You can do any searches and find cases that deal with exactly what we're talking about.

[Dutch]

Beleive what you want,the CO I talked to several years ago said that was not the intent of the law but as we know there is an entire industry that makes its living deciding what the law is or isn't.I will keep a wary eye open for the"freezer police" but it does not change my view .nuff said cheers

[Chessieguy]

The possession limit is by my understanding also unprocessed birds, so unless they are processed into something other than whole birds (Sausage, pepperoni etc.) the limit is the limit.
Technically if you gift birds they are supposed to have your federal license number attached to them (in the same way that if you drop a bird at the taxidermist he/she will require your federal number) so the would in effect be a part of your possession limit.

My 2 cents worth...

[Dolomite]

So does that mean whenever you get 16 birds you should take 'em to the butcher? As long as you plan to keep shooting birds?

I'm gonna e-mail a CO and try to get a final word on this.

Again, there is interpretation and then there is the law.

Thanks for the healthy discussion tho

[field marshal]

Nobody is going to give 2 shits how many ducks you've got in your freezer!!!:confused: If you've got a big sign in your front yard saying fat wild mallards for sale,well then you'll have a problem!! If you've got more than your 2days bag limit hanging on your back porch you might be asking for trouble??:icon_frow
If you go out 7days in a row shooting a full bag limit every day,then plucking them in the back yard and having feathers floating into the neighbors yard, you are asking for trouble!:twisted: If you use common sense and keep your nose clean no C.O. who has better things to do is going to bother with you! I have many people who love wild ducks I share them with! I clean them before I give them away as I don't trust them to care for them properly! You would not believe all the cool stuff I get from them in return especially at Christmas!!:-D There is a reason I have trouble getting my waders on.:mrgreen:
Cheers-----Field Marshal.

[Freshtracks]

Nobody is going to give 2 shits how many ducks you've got in your freezer!!!:confused: If you've got a big sign in your front yard saying fat wild mallards for sale,well then you'll have a problem!! If you've got more than your 2days bag limit hanging on your back porch you might be asking for trouble??:icon_frow
If you go out 7days in a row shooting a full bag limit every day,then plucking them in the back yard and having feathers floating into the neighbors yard, you are asking for trouble!:twisted: If you use common sense and keep your nose clean no C.O. who has better things to do is going to bother with you! I have many people who love wild ducks I share them with! I clean them before I give them away as I don't trust them to care for them properly! You would not believe all the cool stuff I get from them in return especially at Christmas!! There is a reason I have trouble getting my waders on.:mrgreen:
Cheers-----Field Marshal.

FM ... how many cleaned and packaged ducks you got in your freezer atm? :D

[field marshal]

FM ... how many cleaned and packaged ducks you got in your freezer atm? :D

Why ??? you looking for some???------Cheers---Field Marshal.

[sparkes3]

exactly what chessieguy said ,
and since were not supposed to discuss illegal activities on here this chat will probally be locked soon.ha.

[Dolomite]

Nobody is going to give 2 shits how many ducks you've got in your freezer!!!:confused: If you've got a big sign in your front yard saying fat wild mallards for sale,well then you'll have a problem!! If you've got more than your 2days bag limit hanging on your back porch you might be asking for trouble??:icon_frow
If you go out 7days in a row shooting a full bag limit every day,then plucking them in the back yard and having feathers floating into the neighbors yard, you are asking for trouble!:twisted: If you use common sense and keep your nose clean no C.O. who has better things to do is going to bother with you! I have many people who love wild ducks I share them with! I clean them before I give them away as I don't trust them to care for them properly! You would not believe all the cool stuff I get from them in return especially at Christmas!!:-D There is a reason I have trouble getting my waders on.:mrgreen:
Cheers-----Field Marshal.

What do i tell the butcher when I show up with 30 pairs of ducks breasts for pepperoni? aren't they obliged to report me if I'm possessing more than my limit? assuming my limit is 16?

[Dolomite]

Ok...So I got a reply from a CO...

Thank you for your email dated December 2, 2011, regarding bag limits for waterfowl in British Columbia. Your enquiry has been forwarded to me for response.

Possession limits for waterfowl are different than possession/bag limits for other wildlife. For Migratory game birds, the possession limit is the total number of harvested individuals in the person’s possession, including birds that are possessed at home. For example, the possession limit for geese is 10. If a hunter has 5 geese in the freezer at home, they can only harvest 5 more geese before they reach their possession limit. If the hunter consumes the 5 geese they have at home those geese are then removed from their possession limit and they would be able to harvest 10 more geese. Below is the relevant legislation from the BC Wildlife Act and regulations.

(2) For the purposes of this Act,
(a) a person has anything in possession when the person has it in his or her personal possession or knowingly
(i) has it in the actual possession or custody of another person, or
(ii) has it in any place, whether or not that place belongs to or is occupied by him or her, for the use or benefit of himself or herself or of another person, and
(b) if one of 2 or more persons, with the knowledge and consent of the rest, has anything in his or her custody or possession, it is deemed to be in the custody and possession of each and all of them.

"possession limit" means the maximum number of a species or type of wildlife which a person may have in his possession while hunting or returning from hunting, except for migratory game birds where the possession limit applies at all times;

Examples of bag and possession limits
9 (1) An entry such as "2 (1)" in Part 1 of a Schedule means, in the case of ungulates, that the bag limit is 2 animals of that species in the aggregate, one of which may be antlerless.
(2) An entry such as "10 (20)" in Part 1 of a Schedule means, in the case of all game birds except turkeys, that the bag limit is 10 birds a day, while the possession limit is 20.

Offence — limits exceeded
12 Subject to the exceptions noted in Parts 1 and 3 of each Schedule, a person commits an offence where the person
(a) kills more than
(i) 5 geese in one day,
(ii) 8 ducks in one day,
(iii) 4 canvasback ducks in one day,
(iv) 4 pintail ducks in one day,
(v) 2 goldeneye ducks in one day,
(vi) 2 harlequin ducks in one day, or
(vii) 5 band-tailed pigeons in one day, or
(b) exceeds the possession limit of
(i) 10 geese,
(ii) 16 ducks,
(iii) 8 canvasback ducks,
(iv) 8 pintail ducks,
(v) 4 goldeneye ducks,
(vi) 4 harlequin ducks,
(vii) 3 times the daily bag limit for game birds, excluding migratory game birds, or
(viii) 10 band-tailed pigeons.

If you shoot 16 ducks you will have reached your provincial bag limit for ducks and would not be able to harvest more ducks anywhere in the province until you remove some of the harvested ducks from your possession (consume them, give them away, etc). A hunter cannot legally have, for example, 30 ducks in his/her freezer at one time, but a hunter can legally harvest 30 ducks in a season provided the hunter at no point has more than 16 ducks in their possession. If you harvest 16 ducks and consume them all your possession will have dropped to zero and you would be able to harvest a maximum of 8 more ducks per day up to your possession limit of 16.

I hope this answers your questions

So, from what I get out of that is even if you "process" the meat (ie. breast out the ducks), then you are still under the rules of possession. I guess things get a little hazy if you get them turned in to pepperoni or something?

I'll e-mail him back and get a clarification on that. Looks like we should be a little more careful with our possession limits?

[Crazy_Farmer]

That CO knows the laws and gave you a good reply. Exactly what a couple of us have said on here, plucked or breasted in the freezer is not processed and counts towards your possession to the letter of the law.

It will be neat to see what he says about pepperoni becuase by law if you had duck pepperoni in your freezer and then also had your 16 ducks in there too. You would be over becuase they could prove there's more then your 16 total. But then how can one tell the mix of the pepperoni? Half and half? 1/3 pork added? I would think aslong as you didn't have your 16 full possession then having pepperoni on hand wouldn't be a problem

[sparkes3]

agreed with most of the above response from the co,maybe its just how im reading it.
if a hunter has 5 geese at home ,they can only harvest 5 more geese reaching their 10 geese possession limit.
if the hunter consumes those 5 geese they can harvest 10 more geese (as long as they dont exceed their daily bag limit of five geese), except in some areas of the lowerwasteland where you can also take your daily limit of snow geese as well.

[Dutch]

So again I have 4 people in my house I GIVE 16 to each, they live with me therefore I can have 64 duck breasts in OUR freezer,???

[Dolomite]

assuming they all have a hunter number, hunting license, fraser valley special area hunting license and duck hunting license

at least thats how i interpret it

[Dutch]

What about the 8 that I gave the guy next door ,the newspaper boy they don't have licenses this is a very cloudy thing ,I gift birds to people and none that I know have a license,and they do not take my name and numbers. Well I am not about to change my ways after 35 years but it does present some interesting questions on what gifting is? The possesion thing is now clearer so that has been answered.:)

[Freshtracks]

What about the 8 that I gave the guy next door ,the newspaper boy they don't have licenses this is a very cloudy thing ,I gift birds to people and none that I know have a license,and they do not take my name and numbers. Well I am not about to change my ways after 35 years but it does present some interesting questions on what gifting is? The possesion thing is now clearer so that has been answered.:)


Ok...So I got a reply from a CO...


If you shoot 16 ducks you will have reached your provincial bag limit for ducks and would not be able to harvest more ducks anywhere in the province until you remove some of the harvested ducks from your possession (consume them, give them away, etc).

So, from what I get out of that is even if you "process" the meat (ie. breast out the ducks), then you are still under the rules of possession. I guess things get a little hazy if you get them turned in to pepperoni or something?

I'll e-mail him back and get a clarification on that. Looks like we should be a little more careful with our possession limits?

The CO has pretty much given the answer to 'gifting' ducks. Be interesting to hear the 'process' interpretation.

[Crazy_Farmer]

Straight from the migratory bird act.


(3)*No person shall have in his possession in any province a carcass of a migratory game bird belonging to or taken by another person unless the carcass has attached to it a tag that is signed by the holder of the migratory game bird hunting permit under which the bird was taken and that indicates
(a)*the name and address of the owner;
(b)*the number of the migratory game bird hunting permit under which the bird was taken; and
(c)*the date the bird was taken.


So you may of been doing it for 35 years and probably alot of others do the same but by the books each bird you gift needs a tag with your info on it. Same when it goes to the taxidermist.

[Foxton Gundogs]

So I have 16 fat malards in my freezer I give 2 to my sister name, adress & permit # NP but how the hell do I remember which birds I took on which date not arguing with the law but sometimes things can get a little carried away.

[field marshal]

So I have 16 fat malards in my freezer I give 2 to my sister name, adress & permit # NP but how the hell do I remember which birds I took on which date not arguing with the law but sometimes things can get a little carried away.
Jim, Jim,Jim!!!! Nobody is coming knocking on your door, unless your name is Jeff Foiles!!!!! Okay everyone RELAX!!!! Cheers--Field Marshal.

[Dutch]

LOLOL What he said :):)

[f350ps]

Wow, I don't think a CO really gives a sh%t about what anybody has for ducks or breast or dicks in their freezer, I'm sure they got a whole lot of better things to do than worry about this kinda crap. I've got some sausage in the freezer from maybe last year or maybe not that I'd love to get DNA'd, save me from trying to eat it. K

[Foxton Gundogs]

Just making a point here guys how some things get outa hand, I'm to old to be perinoid about the little $hit lol

[Dolomite]

Yeah, sorry. Not trying to piss anyone off, just trying to make sense of the whole thing. Part of me says "really, do you need more than 16 ducks?" . Sure there are millions of them flying around out there, but that's probably what they said about the plains buffalo. Just because they are there doesn't mean we should bring them down in record numbers.

I realize the CO's have much better things to do than drive around and peek in to everyone's freezer, and people can't remember when they shot a duck, and its a hassle to leave a note with each duck that you give away.
I'm just trying to get an idea of what the rules ACTUALLY state, not some interpretation of it.
At the end of the day its totally up to the individual to make that decision of what they want to do and how they want to do it, but I'm sure we all want to be able to hunt ducks until we're too old to hold up a shot-gun, and we'd love to be able to pass that tradition on to our children.
I was on DU website the other day and read about declining numbers and that sparked the thought on what the actual possession limits are. I do realize that hunting ducks probably isn't the deciding factor on the declining numbers of waterfowl, thats probably a whole other discussion meant for some other message board.
Again, just trying to abide by the rules and not come up with my own interpretation of it.

[Chessieguy]

All a good discussion, and some confirmation of the answers that I recalled.

The key is that there is some flexibility to interpretation both by the hunter and by the CO's so we should be fortunate that the law is not carved in stone.

I recall a discussion with the CO's when I lived back East, and they indicated that they usually knew who the problem "hunters" were and were continually trying to make a case against them. They were less concerned with the guy who shot his limit and then the dog picked up an extra cripple on the way out and was "technically over the limit" but did what he considered to be the ethical thing and kept the duck instead of tossing it into the woods.

I think the long and short of it is...hunt responsibility, and stay within the limits and there should be nothing to worry about.