FOREWORD

This hunting and trapping code of practice only concerns the context of the specific agreement concluded between the Government of Quebec and the two Band Councils that are members of W8banaki for the duration of the agreement.

At no time may this Code be used outside this context or to deny, affirm or prevent the exercise of the existing rights of the Abenaki nation and its members.

The Code of Practice and the agreement between the Parties shall apply only to the practice area described in section 7.1 and, as the case may be, to the territory referred to in section 7.2.

In this document, the masculine grammatical form refers to both women and men.

To simplify and simplify the text, "Government of Quebec" is replaced by "Minister" and "the two Band Councils of Odanak and Wôlinak of the Abenaki Nation" by "Council".

1. THE OBJECTIVES

1.1 The general objective of this Code of Practice is to provide a framework for the food, ceremonial or social hunting and trapping activities of members of the Abenaki Nation and the manner in which these activities are managed within the context of the agreement between the Minister and the Council.

1.2 It also aims to enable Abenakis who use it to hunt and trap openly and in complete peace of mind.

1.3 Its specific objective is to encourage and promote the exercise of the family and community traditions of the members of the nation in their own way and to promote and enhance the particular national culture of the Abenaki people, in the context of a contemporary accommodation negotiated amicably with the Minister.

1.4 Abenaki who wish to benefit from the advantages provided for in the specific agreement concluded between the Minister and the Council must, in order to do so, comply with this code of practice and the agreement.

1.5 The application of this code is the responsibility of the entire Abenaki community, even if, in practice, the Council is accountable for it. This is at stake for the very credibility of the nation and the ability of its members to exercise responsible self-discipline in the practice of their activities and to respect the agreements reached.

1.6 This Code is the nation's first approach to hunting and trapping in the context of a specific negotiated agreement and will be reviewed, amended and supplemented, as appropriate, to take into account all wildlife harvesting activities, forest life and other related activities of the nation's members.

2. THE PRINCIPLES

Through this Code of Practice, the Abenaki Nation wishes to promote the following principles:

2.1 Environmental protection on all parcels of land frequented by members of the nation;

2.2 Teaching the younger generation about healthy and safe practices and traditional knowledge;

2.3 Managing the activities of members on a fair and equitable basis for all;

2.4 Respect for other users of the territory who may frequent the same territory;

2.5 Courtesy at any meeting that may occur on the territory;

2.6 The enhancement of Abenaki culture, including the possibility of family and community practices of activities;

2.7 Compliance with the commitments made by members when issuing their hunting or trapping permits and the conditions imposed on their issuance;

2.8 Protection of wildlife and its habitats;

2.9 The safe and responsible practice of activities involving the use of weapons.

3. THE BENEFICIARIES

3.1 The only persons who may avail themselves of the agreement between the Minister and the Council are the members of the Abenaki Nation as listed on the lists of members residing or not on the Odanak and Wôlinak reserves under the Indian Act.

3.2 The organization of activities under this Code focuses on the Abenaki family, but this should not be interpreted to prevent a person living alone from carrying out these activities. The family practice of forest activities is considered a fundamental value of the Abenaki nation and constitutes a basic principle valued by the Abenaki culture and by the agreement.

3.3 Hunting and trapping activities are reserved for beneficiaries who have the necessary knowledge, judgement and experience to carry out these activities and to handle weapons and trapping devices. The spouses and children of beneficiaries who live in the same home may accompany them to the hunting and trapping activities.

4. HUNTING AND TRAPPING CONDITIONS

4.1 As part of the agreement between the Minister and the Council, beneficiaries who wish to hunt or trap for food, ritual or social purposes must hold the appropriate permit previously issued by the Council and undertake to comply with the conditions identified in this Code and the agreement, a commitment conditional on the issuance of the Abenaki permit.

Abenaki permits are valid for the practice area identified in section 6.1 and in accordance with the terms of the agreement and code of practice.

However, an Abenaki, who does not wish to avail himself of the agreement agreed upon between the Minister and the Council, may obtain the permit(s) necessary for hunting and trapping activities under the general conditions of practice provided for in the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife and its regulations.

In the territory where Wabanaki may hunt for food, ritual or social purposes as specified in Article 6.2 of the Agreement, the hunting licences issued by the Council replace, as the case may be, the white-tailed deer hunting licence elsewhere than in Area 20, the moose hunting licence for all areas, and the black bear hunting licence, the wild turkey licence, small game licence, hare or white-tailed rabbit snare licence and leopard frog, green frog and bullfrog licence provided for in the Hunting Regulations. The holder of a hunting licence issued by the Council is then subject to all the hunting provisions of the Wildlife Conservation and Development Act and its regulations, including the catch limit, and may not combine it with that provided for in section 8.3 of the agreement.

4.2 To the extent that it is demonstrated that a Recipient or Recipients are in breach of this Code of Practice or the Agreement, thereby damaging the reputation of the Nation and the activities of its members, their licence issued by the Council may be revoked for the duration of the Agreement, and may not be renewed for the following season, if the Agreement is renewed.

In these circumstances, the person or persons concerned must assume alone the responsibilities and penalties that may fall to them and the Council does not hold itself responsible for their actions.

4.3 Abenaki people who wish to use equipment and facilities that do not belong to them must first obtain authorization from the appropriate authority and pay, if applicable, the user fees. In addition, beneficiaries of the agreement must always obtain the authorization of the landowner or his agent before moving and carrying on their activities on private lands.

4.4 The Abenaki permit issued by the Council shall identify in particular:

- the holder (name, address);
- the purpose of the activity (hunting or trapping);
- the species concerned.

4.5 In the practice area described in section 6.1. of the agreement, two licences must be cancelled when a moose is slaughtered. The annual catch limit is therefore one moose per year by two licence holders participating in the same hunting expedition.

For white-tailed deer, the annual catch limit is two animals per licence holder.

For black bears, the annual catch limit is one bear per hunting licence holder and two bears per fur trapping licence holder. These two limits can be combined.

For wild turkeys, the annual catch limit is two wild turkeys with beards per licence holder. However, the second turkey must be taken from one of the following areas: 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8 or 10.

4.6 A beneficiary's name may only be entered on one licence depending on the species and the beneficiary may no longer hunt for food purposes when his licence is cancelled.

4.7 On the practice area described in section 7.1, as soon as a holder of a licence issued by the Council has slaughtered a moose, he must detach the appropriate transport coupon from his licence and affix it to the animal.  In addition, the holder must ensure, on the same day of slaughter, that a second transport coupon corresponding to the annual catch limit is affixed to the animal.  Any additional coupons must come from a hunting licence of a person who is authorized to hunt moose, using the same type of gear, during the same period and for the same fishing and hunting area and who participated in the hunting expedition during which the animal was killed.

4.8 For white-tailed deer, black bear and wild turkey, a single transport coupon corresponding to the slaughtered animal and derived from the licence of the person who slaughtered the animal must be affixed to the animal immediately after its slaughter

4.9 The terms and conditions set out in sections 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8 apply only to the practice area described in section 7.1. In addition, once the transportation coupon(s) have been detached from the permit, the permit holder may no longer hunt the species corresponding to the transportation coupons.

4.10 It is prohibited to hunt and trap in areas and places where hunting and trapping are prohibited by Quebec legislation.

4.11 The authorized hunting or trapping gear, devices, products and methods are set out in Appendix I of the Code of Practice.

4.12 In the event of an accidental slaughter, the animal so slaughtered must be reported without delay to a wildlife protection officer and, after verification, will be returned to the Council, which will become responsible for it and dispose of it for community purposes (ritual or social purposes). These animals will be counted among the animals allocated to the Council for ritual or social purposes as provided for in section 8.8 of the agreement.

4.13 The Council may allow moose and white-tailed deer to be hunted for community purposes (ritual or social).

Among the community needs are the following holidays:

Pow Wow and National Aboriginal Day (June 15 to July 15)
Elders' Day (October 15 to November 15)
Election of Band Councils
Christmas and New Year's Day Celebration

4.14 Only persons designated by the Council may hunt for other members of the nation. The nation's annual quota is 5 moose and 30 white-tailed deer.

4.15 When the Council issues a special authorization for hunting for ritual or social purposes, it must identify the beneficiary or beneficiaries authorized to hunt for that purpose and the duration of the hunt. The Council may also prescribe the sex and age of the animals that may be slaughtered and the places where such hunting may take place.

4.16 The Council asks hunters and trappers to report to it any anomalies they may have noticed during their use of the territory, with respect to wildlife and habitats.

4.17 It is prohibited and considered immoral to hunt, injure or wilfully kill an animal with a vehicle, aircraft or motorized craft.

4.18 Abenakis may not hunt or trap under the influence of an alcoholic beverage.

4.19 It is immoral and prohibited to waste or abandon the flesh of a slaughtered game animal.

4.20 It is prohibited to sell the meat of game killed except in the cases provided for in Quebec legislation.

4.21 It is prohibited to catch large game, except black bears, by a means capable of restraining them.

4.22 Abenaki commit to comply with regulations that aim to protect species designated as threatened or vulnerable, or prohibited from being harvested for conservation reasons.

4.23 At the request of a person authorized by the Wildlife Conservation and Development Act, Abenaki must identify themselves using the permit issued by the Council and display their catches, ammunition and hunting and trapping gear.

5. CHECK-IN AND TRANSPORT TO THE PRACTICE AREA

5.1 The Council shall keep a register to compile the information necessary for the management of Abenaki hunting and trapping activities provided for in the agreement with the Minister. This register shall contain, inter alia, the names of hunters and trappers, the animal slaughtered and the place and date of capture.

5.2 For the purpose of sound resource management, the hunter or trapper shall register, at such locations as the Council may designate or with any person, association or corporation authorized for that purpose by the Minister, any large game or wild turkey harvested no later than 48 hours after leaving the forest and indicate the most precise location possible where the animal was killed.

5.3 All moose slaughtered shall be transported and produced at a recording station or at a place designated by the Council in its entirety or in identifiable quarters.

In the case of a moose produced in quarters, the hunter must also produce and make accessible the entire head. Otherwise, it must produce and make accessible the complete lower jaw and, in the case of a male, the woods attached to the skull cap or part thereof.

All slaughtered white-tailed deer must be transported and produced at a registration station or place designated by the Council in the whole state or in a maximum of two approximately equal parts separated transversely at the height of the floating ribs or kidneys (kidneys). In addition, when the white-tailed deer is split in two, the hunter must present both parts without the head and external genitalia (scrotum or vulva) having been detached from one part of the animal.

Any slaughtered wild turkey must be transported and produced in its entirety to a person, association or company authorized for that purpose by the Minister or at a place designated by the Council.

An Abenaki who slaughters a black bear must, at the time of registration, present the carcass or fur of the animal to a person, association or society authorized for that purpose by the Minister or at a place designated by the Council.

5.4 Abenaki shall cooperate in the collection of biological data that may be necessary for wildlife management in the practice area described in section 7.1.

6. SECURITY

6.1 Abenaki may not board any motorized ground vehicle, aircraft or trailer towed by a vehicle; and

At all times, be in possession of an armed crossbow or firearm containing an unfired cartridge placed in the chamber, magazine or magazine if attached to the weapon, or a muzzle-loading weapon containing powder, a projectile and a primer on the chimney or powder in the pan;

Fire a firearm, crossbow or bow from this vehicle, aircraft or trailer;

At night, to be in possession of an unloaded firearm, bow or crossbow, unless these weapons are stored in a closed case or stored in the trunk of the vehicle or in the hold of the aircraft.

6.2 Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, in the case of a physical disability preventing normal hunting, the Council may issue a special authorization to the individual concerned.

6.3 Abenaki shall comply with the safety rules relating to the wearing of fluorescent orange bibs during hunting activities in order to protect each other from accidents that may occur and to prevent them as much as possible.

6.4 Subject to the hunting activities permitted by Quebec legislation at night, Abenaki do not hunt at night and do not use devices to disturb or detect the presence of an animal at night. For the purposes of this article, the hunting period begins half an hour before sunrise and ends half an hour after sunset.

6.5 During the big game sport hunting season, in the practice area described in section 7.1, only gear authorized by Quebec regulations may be used depending on the hunting and trapping areas.  However, during a period of hunting with a muzzle-loading, crossbow and bow weapon, provided for moose or white-tailed deer by the Hunting Regulations, all hunting gear according to these species provided for by these regulations is authorized.

6.6 In Zones 4, 5, 6, 6, 7 and 8, it is prohibited at any time to shoot an animal from a public road, including the ten (10) metre width on each exterior side of the right-of-way. It is also prohibited to shoot an animal on a public road or to shoot in the way of such a road.

However, in zones 4 and 7, these prohibitions do not apply to hunters who hunt small game when using a rifle, muzzle-loading weapon, bow or crossbow, with ammunition permitted for hunting small game.  However, this hunter and game must not be less than 100 metres from a building intended to house people, shelter animals or place things.

7. TERRITORY OF THE AGREEMENT

7.1 Area of practice for activities with special terms and conditions.

Members of the Abenaki Nation may engage in all activities described in the Code of Practice in the following fishing, hunting and trapping areas and territories:

Zones 5 and 6 described in the Regulation respecting fishing, hunting and trapping zones enacted by Decree 27-90 of 10 January 1990 and amended by Ministerial Order No. 99025 of 31 August 1999; (See attached maps)

The western part of Zone 4 (part of Zone 4 South), the western part of Zone 7 (southern and northern parts of Zone 7) and the eastern part of Zone 8 (northern and eastern parts of Zone 8) described by the order of the Minister responsible for Wildlife and Parks, A.M., 1999-009 of 31 March 1999. (See attached maps)

7.2 Other territory

Members of the Abenaki Nation may hunt outside the practice area referred to in section 7.1 in accordance with the procedures set out in section 4.1, however, they may not hunt within zones 17, 19 north, 20, 22, 22, 23 and 24 of the Fishing and Hunting Zones Regulations.