Starting July 6, hunters may enter the provincial draw for one of 6,025 antlerless deer hunting stamps for the 2026 season.
Stamps are available for five of the 10 deer management zones (zones 103, 104, 106, 108 and 110) in mainland Nova Scotia and both zones (111 and 112) in Cape Breton. Antlerless deer stamps are not required in the other mainland zones (101, 102, 105, 107 and 109), where hunters may harvest deer of either sex.
To be eligible to apply for an antlerless deer stamp, hunters must be a resident of Nova Scotia, have a valid Nova Scotia Wildlife Resources Card and be eligible to purchase a deer hunting licence, including having a valid hunting certification(s) on their HuntNS profile before applying, such as Hunter Trained (HT), Bow Trained (B). The minimum age for deer hunting has also been lowered to 12 from 16. Youth hunters aged 12 to 15 are eligible to apply for the antlerless deer draw as long as they meet all licensing requirements.
People may apply online through their HuntNS profile at https://huntns.ca/, by phone (toll-free: 1-833-302-0750) or by mail: Antlerless Deer Draw Application, Citizen Services Division, Business Registration Unit, Box 1529, 6N-1505 Barrington St., Halifax, N.S., B3J 2Y4. The fee is $8.04 plus tax for electronic and phone applications and $11.70 plus tax for paper applications. Applications close July 31, and results will be posted online August 18.
Additional resources
Deer management zones map: https://data.novascotia.ca/Lands-Forests-and-Wildlife/Deer-Management-Zones-Map/3vgv-umnr
