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Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

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Limited Entry Hunting

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  • Click to download the LEH Regulations Synopsis [PDF 12MB]

    2016-2017 Limited Entry Hunting Regulations Synopsis

    The Fall 2016 LEH Draw will open for submissions on April 25.

    Effective April 25, Hunters can apply online, or at Service BC, FrontCounter BC, or participating licence vendors.

    Limited Entry Hunting (LEH) are hunting opportunities created via a "lottery", and the details are found in the LEH Synopsis. Participation in the LEH draw is available to any resident of B.C. who legally possesses a B.C. Resident Hunter Number.

    The purpose of Limited Entry Hunting is to achieve wildlife management objectives without resorting to such measures as shortening seasons or completely closing areas. It is only introduced where it has become necessary to limit the number of hunters, limit the number of animals that may be taken, or limit the harvest to a certain "class" of animal.

    Victoria mailing address for LEH applications
    LIMITED ENTRY HUNTING
    FISH AND WILDLIFE BRANCH
    PO BOX 9389 STN PROV GOVT
    VICTORIA BC V8W 9M7

    View Limited Entry Hunting Maps

    To find out more, please download:
    How the Limited Entry Hunting System Works [PDF 95KB]

    If you have any questions about Limited Entry Hunting, contact the LEH office at: 250 356-5142
    LimitedEntry.Hunting@gov.bc.ca

  • Success in the Draw

    Success in the Limited Entry draw is simply a matter of random luck. The odds that are published beside each hunt give an indication of the likelihood of a successful application, but they do not guarantee anything. For example, odds of 3 to 1 suggest that one out of three applicants will be drawn, but for any one person, this is not a sure thing. With such odds, an individual could be lucky and be drawn twice in three tries or be unlucky and apply for eight straight years without success.

    Contrary to the beliefs of many, repeat success in the Limited Entry draw is actually quite low. Successful applicants have their chances reduced in subsequent draws in order to improve the chances of those who have been unsuccessful. In most cases of repeated success, an applicant has been applying for very lightly subscribed hunts.

    If you have lost a Limited Entry Hunting authorization, a duplicate can be issued to you at most Service BC Offices free of charge.

  • Draw Status

    2015/2016 LEH Draw has not yet been run.

    When the draw has been run you will be able to check your draw results here.

    Spring 2016 LEH Draw

    The Spring 2016 Grizzly and Early Skeena Sheep draw is now complete. You can check your draw results below.
    Search for your draw results by entering your Hunter Number into the box provided and pressing “submit”.

    Hunter Number:

    Important Notice

    To all BC resident hunters who may be planning to hunt in Management Units 5-04 and 5-05:

    Your ability to exercise hunting privileges in these management units may be affected by a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision regarding the Tsilhqot'in Nation: http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14246/index.do

    To all BC resident hunters who are drawn for Moose Limited Entry Hunting in Management Unit 5-03 or Zone B/C of 5-04:

    Local First Nations have been working with the Province on a moose recovery strategy in the South Chilcotin and with the forest industry on practices to increase moose populations. The Southern Chilcotin Stewardship Planning Area is subject to a short term pilot project with the objective of supporting moose population recovery, including changing forestry practices, increasing road deactivation, and reducing moose harvest. In support of the pilot project, moose recovery and ongoing negotiations between the province and the Tsilhqot'in Nation, hunters in possession of a Moose LEH authorization for Management Unit 5-03 or Zone B/C of 5-04 are being requested to refrain from hunting moose within the South Chilcotin Stewardship Planning Area. Please respect the negotiation process and the intent of the pilot project and limit your moose hunting to areas outside the South Chilcotin Stewardship Planning Area. More information, including a map of the area of interest, will be included with LEH authorizations applicable to this area.

    Special considerations apply to the Moose hunt in Management Units 5-03 or Zone B of 5-04 for the 2015 LEH season. The South Chilcotin Stewardship Planning Area (SCSPA) is being tested as a short term pilot to see how First Nations and government together can make resource use changes that allow for enhanced moose recovery. The maps below show the portion of Management Units 5-03 and 5-04 that overlap with the SCSPA. Government is requesting that you refrain from hunting in the SCSPA; all hunts impacted by this request have sufficient area outside the SCSPA to hunt Moose.

    SCSPA overlap with LEH Management 5-03 [6.53MB]
    SCSPA overlap with LEH Management 5-04 Zone B and C [4.14MB]

    If you have any questions, you may contact the LEH Office at: 250-356-5142 or lehunt@Victoria1.gov.bc.ca

    We regret that First Nation hunters may not be able to check their Limited Entry draw results on this website. For protection of privacy reasons, access to draw results is by British Columbia resident hunter number only. The use of the hunter number rather than the hunter's name is intended to prevent access to draw results by anyone other than the person who applied for the draw. First Nation hunters who do not have a resident hunter number may check their draw results by contacting the Fish and Wildlife Branch at 250-356-5142.

  • 2015 Draw Statistics

    • The Fish and Wildlife Branch issued 26,843 authorizations to 23,266 hunters (the total number of authorizations issued is higher than the total number of hunters because it is possible for one hunter to receive more than one authorization).
    • There were a total of 22,780 authorizations available (the total number of authorizations available is lower than the total number of issued authorizations due to shared moose and bison hunts that have more winning hunters than authorized animals).
    • 26,067 authorizations were issued as "first choice"; 591 as "second choice" and 185 as "Grizzly Bear Substitute".
    • Shared hunts for moose allowed 4,048 additional hunters to participate in LEH hunts for moose.
    • Shared hunts for bison allowed 192 additional hunters to participate in LEH hunts for bison.
    • 3 hunters were drawn for 5 species, 42 were drawn for 4 species, 335 were drawn for 3 species, 2,769 were drawn for 2 species and 20,117 were drawn for 1 species.
    • 83,722 hunters submitted 185,430 applications, 182,767 of which made it into the draw.
    • 44 hunters applied for all 8 species.
    • 56,492 people applied for 1 or 2 species.
    • 272 authorizations, (54/2633 Goat, 84/2085 Grizzly Bear, 82/4601 Mule Deer and 52/8730 Moose) were not awarded due to being undersubscribed (the total number of authorizations available exceeded the total number of applicants for that hunt).

  • Notice on Special Mountain Sheep Resident Draw

    The lucky winner of the 2016 Resident Special Sheep Permit was selected at random by David Tesch, Executive Director, Knowledge Management Branch, Ministry of Environment, on Tuesday August 18, 2015. The winner is Wayne Hunt.

    The Fish and Wildlife Branch is pleased to announce the Special Mountain Sheep Resident Draw. This authorization provides a special opportunity to hunt your choice of Thinhorn Sheep (Dall’s and Stone’s) or Bighorn Sheep (California and Rocky Mountain) and to support conservation efforts that will benefit mountain sheep in British Columbia.

    The draw allows the successful applicant to take one mountain sheep in excess of the regular bag limit during a special extended hunting period and will be valid during the limited entry hunting and general open hunting season for sheep.  If the species of choice is Bighorn Sheep, the opportunity to hunt will be extended until December 20, approximately one month past the end of the latest sheep hunting season date.  If the species of choice is a Thinhorn Sheep, the opportunity to hunt will be open earlier by 21 days prior to the opening of the regular sheep hunting season and will close on March 31.

    The Special Mountain Sheep Resident Draw is valid for any male sheep. The successful resident is required to hold a valid resident hunting licence, a mountain sheep species licence and the Special Mountain Sheep authorization while hunting under the Special Mountain Sheep authorization.  While the Special Mountain Sheep authorization allows the successful application to harvest 2 sheep in the licence year, the hunter may only hold one uncancelled sheep species licence at one time.

    Watch for the 2016/2017 Limited Entry Hunting synopsis for details on how to apply for the 2017 Special Mountain Sheep Hunt draw.