FREDERICTON (GNB) – An additional 260 licences are available in this year's annual moose draw for New Brunswick residents.

Residents may apply for the computerized draw until the end of Friday, June 8, Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup announced today.

“The number of licences available for New Brunswick moose hunters has been increased this year by six per cent compared to last fall,” Northrup said. “This increase is based on advice from biologists who have indicated the moose population is healthy in most parts of the province.”

There will be 4,624 resident licences available this season, up from 4,364 last year. Over the past two years, 1,070 additional licences have been made available to New Brunswick residents.

In 2011, 810 licences were added, primarily in areas with a high number of moose-vehicle accidents.

The three-day moose season for residents and non-residents runs from Thursday, Sept. 27, through Saturday, Sept. 29.

There are three ways for New Brunswick residents to apply for a moose licence: by using a touch-tone telephone; in person at a Department of Natural Resources office or at any Service New Brunswick centre; or online at the department's website.

Hunters have until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 8, to apply for the draw in person; until 8 p.m. the same day to apply on the telephone-application line; and until midnight to apply online.

Hunters can visit the department's website for more detailed information. Fact sheets are also available at all department offices and Service New Brunswick centres.

The cost of applying for a moose licence is $9.38 (HST included) using the telephone system or online options, or $14.13 (HST included) if applying in person at a department office or Service New Brunswick centre.

Successful applicants will be drawn on an individual basis based on their entire nine-digit Medicare number. The results will be available July 9.

Northrup said the draw for the hunt this fall will use the new pool system introduced last year.

The implementation of the new system was a commitment in the document Putting New Brunswick First to improve the odds in the moose draw for hunters whose names have not been drawn for several years.

Under the system, applicants move into a new pool for every five years they have applied unsuccessfully to the moose draw since 1994, where their number of ballots in the draw would triple.

New hunters or those who have been drawn within the past four years will be in Pool 0, with a single ballot in their name. Hunters who have been unsuccessful for at least five years will be in Pool 1, with three ballots in their name. Anyone who has been unsuccessful for at least 10 years will be in Pool 2, with nine ballots in the computerized draw. Pool 3 is for those who have been unsuccessful for at least 15 years, with 27 ballots per applicant.

“There are still going to be many more people applying for a moose licence than available licences, but this system improves the odds for New Brunswick hunters who have waited a long time for a chance to take part in this hunt,” Northrup said.

The following is a list of wildlife management zones and the 2012 quota of resident moose licences allocated for each zone with last year's quota in brackets:

1 - 105 (40)
2 - 357 (323)
3 - 259 (250)
4 - 451 (427)
5 - 290 (268)
6 - 200 (193)
7 - 312 (295)
8 - 287 (266)
9 - 63 (54)
10 - 106 (96)
11- 116 (111)
12 - 252 (236)
13 - 92 (82)
14 - 141 (126)
15 - 86 (86)
16 - 180 (190)
17 - 103 (87)
18 - 122 (117)
19 - 64 (61)
20 - 323 (369)
21 - 192 (204)
22 - 109 (90)
23 - 233 (223)
24 - 88 (86)
25 - 93 (84)

LINK:

●    Department of Natural Resources: www.gnb.ca/naturalresources


14-05-12