No Hunting signs

[wheelie]

A friend of mine bought a nice property and previous owner posted "no hunting" signs. Insurance company told him that no one can hunt the property including himself because of the 'no hunting' signs. Told him anyone goes on the land and gets shot he is not covered because no one would expect a hunter in there. Insurance company told him if he plans to hunt the property he has to go around and change them to "no trustpassing" signs or better yet with no signs at all. I thought that was kinda funny for insurance company to tell him that. Guess insurance companies rule the world now.

[Hester0305]

Never heard of that one before. The insurance company I use on all my lease land has a $1,000,000.00 coverage for all your members and is pretty cheap less than $200.00 a year. You can also cover additional landowners for an extra $25.00 per insured. Here is the name of the company: Davis/Garvin Inc.

[Pydpiper]

It used to be that way, but it changed quite a few years ago. Once a "no hunting" sign was posted it meant there was no hunting on the land.
Now, you can post the sign and use it for personal use, as well as grant permission for other to use the property for the purpose of hunting.
Keep in mind though, the insurance company may have their own clause in the contract that forbids it, but it is very unlikely. I am guessing the insurance company is just a little behind the times on their information.
You can absolutely post "No Hunting" and hunt if it is your property in Ontario.

[TPM]

I had insurance issues with our hunting property too. I made the mistake of telling them it would be used for hunting and the neighbouring properties are used by hunters too. They wanted me to fence and gate the property. It's 100 acres and would require about 3 km of fencing (that's just shy of 2 miles for our American friends ). Obviously not an option so they then asked me to put No Trespassing signs at all access points which I did. They also wanted a letter from me stating how many days per year I would be hunting on average and how many other hunters I would typically have with me. Got that letter on my file with them and they have called periodically to check if the status has changed.

[xbowrook]

she is right.. my mother has worked for the courts and legal system for over 20 years.. if it is posted "no hunting", that means for everyone, including the land owner.. you should have it marked "no trespassing", or "hunted by owner only".. but smarter and safer to put "no trespassing" and "trespassers will be prosecuted" signs... it's not only for insurance... if someone happens ( a citizen for example) drives by and see's someone hunting and then sees the sign, they could call the CO and you could actually get charged for hunting on your own property...

[rayman]

Never heard of that one. Maybe its a Canada thing. Around here, if you are going to have someone prosecuted for tresspasing, there is supposed to be signs and/or fencing. Doesn't matter for insurance though. I think it is like my professional liability coverage. Not many insurance companies provide coverage for what I do so the ones that do are more expensive but at least they can talk to you about it inteligently. Others may slip it in under something el cheapo, but then you have to deal with these weard things they come up with. Have to worry about your coverage too.

I have coverage on my personal property through our homeowner's insurance with Farm Bureau. They have never even asked about signs, fences, gates, etc. It's very inexpensive too because it is an add on to homeowners.

An insurance company can't tell you what to do on your property. I believe that US and Canada are both still free countries. What they can do is try nine ways from Sunday to deny coverage if something happened.

[Pydpiper]

In Ontario you can hunt on land that is posted "No Hunting" if it is yours or if you have permission.
Again, the laws have changed here.

I know nothing about the insurance companies policies, but the law is the law.

Keep in mind that a "No Trespassing" sign prohibits all activity from the land to those without permission, but a "No Hunting" sign opens the door to people who choose to use the land for other purposes, like fishing or hiking.
"No Trespassing" is a blanket statement that prohibits entry, a "No Hunting" sign is not a way to keep people away.
Putting a "stay off the grass" sign on your lawn does not keep you, as the owner off the lawn.
Call the MNR or read the Trespass to property act, it is all very clearly written.
But do not think that a sign you put in a tree is a legal binding contract to not use your own land for your personal enjoyment.
You can hunt your land if it is posted "NO HUNTING"

[TPM]

she is right.. my mother has worked for the courts and legal system for over 20 years.. if it is posted "no hunting", that means for everyone, including the land owner.. you should have it marked "no trespassing", or "hunted by owner only".. but smarter and safer to put "no trespassing" and "trespassers will be prosecuted" signs... it's not only for insurance... if someone happens ( a citizen for example) drives by and see's someone hunting and then sees the sign, they could call the CO and you could actually get charged for hunting on your own property...

This is not the case in Ontario. Ontario Out of Doors ran an extensive article on this a couple of years ago. Signs may carry some weight with your insurance company but there are no laws with either the MNR or the Trespass to Properties Act that would prevent the land owner or anyone he/she has given permission to from hunting the property no matter what kind of signs are posted. Under the act a sign would qualify as a prohibition of entry but it would still require the landowner to press charges. There are no circumstances under which you can get charged with hunting on your own property.

[ch312]

she is right.. my mother has worked for the courts and legal system for over 20 years.. if it is posted "no hunting", that means for everyone, including the land owner.. you should have it marked "no trespassing", or "hunted by owner only".. but smarter and safer to put "no trespassing" and "trespassers will be prosecuted" signs... it's not only for insurance... if someone happens ( a citizen for example) drives by and see's someone hunting and then sees the sign, they could call the CO and you could actually get charged for hunting on your own property...

This is not the case in Ontario. Ontario Out of Doors ran an extensive article on this a couple of years ago. Signs may carry some weight with your insurance company but there are no laws with either the MNR or the Trespass to Properties Act that would prevent the land owner or anyone he/she has given permission to from hunting the property no matter what kind of signs are posted. Under the act a sign would qualify as a prohibition of entry but it would still require the landowner to press charges. There are no circumstances under which you can get charged with hunting on your own property.

i've heard this for years and it never made sense to me that a landowner could be charged for hunting on their own land.

it really worked that way in the past?

[Ont_Excal]

In Ontario you can hunt on land that is posted "No Hunting" if it is yours or if you have permission.
Again, the laws have changed here.

I know nothing about the insurance companies policies, but the law is the law.

Keep in mind that a "No Trespassing" sign prohibits all activity from the land to those without permission, but a "No Hunting" sign opens the door to people who choose to use the land for other purposes, like fishing or hiking.
"No Trespassing" is a blanket statement that prohibits entry, a "No Hunting" sign is not a way to keep people away.
Putting a "stay off the grass" sign on your lawn does not keep you, as the owner off the lawn.
Call the MNR or read the Trespass to property act, it is all very clearly written.
But do not think that a sign you put in a tree is a legal binding contract to not use your own land for your personal enjoyment.
You can hunt your land if it is posted "NO HUNTING"

Correct

[bob1961]

that sounds like red tape insurence talk "babble" to me and would find a new company, but that is just me....how can they say you can't do stuff on your own land YOU OWN ???....by taking those signs down he will open his land to all who feel they have the right to hunt/tresspass then ....but don't tresspass signs also say no hunting, fishing as well as no tresspassing ???..........bob

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[Bullzeye]

It was many years ago I was told this, so it may have changed, but here in Quebec these signs had to be posted every 50 meters to be legal.

[Hi5]

.............. Insurance company told him that no one can hunt the property including himself because of the 'no hunting' signs..............

I very much doubt that your friend was told that information by the "insurance compamy".

It would be EXTRAORDINARY for such an opinion to be offered officially by the insurer. More likely, it is the insurance agent or SPAM! offering his/her opinion of what he/she thinks the insurance company thinks on that subject. If there is no specific provision to that effect in the contract of insurance, my call is that this is guesswork on the part of the agent/SPAM!.

As far as Trespass laws are concerned, you need to check with the jurisdiction where the land is located. It varies from one to another. It doesn't pay to take legal advice from an internet hunting forum. People who present their views most forcefully don't necessarily have the best advice to offer.

[taz3]

A lot of it is wording. There are similar legalities with dogs and posted signs, "BEWARE OF DOG" can be used as admission of owning a dog that is aggressive, compared to a sign reading "DOG ON PREMISSES", which only informs that there is a dog. Similar to Pitbulls being illegal in Ontario, they are not even recognized as a breed in Canada by any of our Kennel Associations, so how can they ban a breed that doesn't exist.

I have also understood the no hunting signs to include the land owner, to prevent anyone being accidently shot on the property with the expectation of no hunting do to the posted signs. No Trespassing signs are intended to inform those who do not have permission to occupy the land in anyway.

[TPM]

As far as Trespass laws are concerned, you need to check with the jurisdiction where the land is located. It varies from one to another. It doesn't pay to take legal advice from an internet hunting forum. People who present their views most forcefully don't necessarily have the best advice to offer.

In Ontario trespassing is a provincial offence and all definitions are covered under the Ontario Trespass to Property Act. I guess there could be some sort of local Municipal bylaws regarding trespassing but I do know the police refer to the Provincial act when laying charges.