News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
October 11, 2005
Phone: (603) 271-3211
Email: info@wildlife.state.nh.us
For information and online licenses, visit 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us

* * * * * * *

CONTACT: 
Liza Poinier: (603) 271-3211 
Kristine Bontaites: (603) 744-5470 
David Gordon, DES Environmental Health Program: (603) 271-4608
October 11, 2005 


N.H. MOOSE HUNT IS OCTOBER 15 - 23

CONCORD, N.H. -- For nine days from October 15 to 23, a lucky 525 
permit holders and their hunting partners will have the experience of a 
lifetime taking part in New Hampshire's 18th annual moose hunt. Twenty of 
these permits will be for taking antlerless-only moose, and the 
remaining 505 will be for any moose.

Each moose-hunt permittee is assigned to hunt in one of 22 wildlife 
management units throughout the state; most have spent the past several 
weeks or months scouting out potential hunting spots. Last year, the 
statewide success rate was 74% (similar to the previous year's success rate 
of 75%), with 388 moose (287 bulls and 101 cows) taken during the 
nine-day season in 2004. Hunters assigned to northern units typically have 
the greatest success (91% were successful in 2004), because of higher 
moose densities and excellent access to hunting lands in the North 
Country.

More than 15,800 people applied for New Hampshire moose hunt permits 
this year, about two-thirds of them New Hampshire residents. The odds of 
winning a permit in the lottery were about 1 in 24 for residents and 1 
in 62 for out-of-staters. Each moose hunter may be accompanied by one 
partner. 

After taking a moose, hunters must have the animals weighed and 
inspected at one of seven check stations around the state. There, wildlife 
biologists check each moose to glean information about the overall health 
of the moose herd. Many of these check stations draw crowds of 
onlookers, a reminder of the economic and symbolic importance of moose in New 
Hampshire, particularly in the North Country.

Hunters are reminded to avoid consuming moose liver and kidney. Studies 
conducted by Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have 
revealed high levels of cadmium in some of the moose livers and kidneys 
sampled. As a result, officials from the Environmental Health Program 
at the N.H. Department of Environmental Services recommend that no moose 
kidney be eaten, and, preferably, no liver. If individuals do choose to 
eat moose liver, it should be from moose younger than 1.5 years. If the 
moose is older than that, consumption should be limited to a maximum of 
six meals (assuming six ounces per meal) of moose liver per year. 
Biologists at the moose check stations can determine the age of the animal 
for hunters.

As part of a sound management strategy, the moose hunt has been an 
annual event in New Hampshire since 1988. The moose population, which was 
only approximately 50 animals in 1950, had grown to over 4,100 by the 
time of the first moose hunt in 1988, when 75 permits were issued. Today 
the moose population is estimated at 6,000 animals. 

License and permit fees paid by hunters support Fish and Game's moose 
research and management programs, including an on-going study on moose 
mortality and habitat. Hunting activity also has a positive impact on 
the state's economy; according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
nearly 80,000 people hunted in New Hampshire in 2001, generating 
expenditures in the state of more than $70 million. 

Those interested in applying for next year's moose hunt can pick up 
applications in early spring wherever fishing and hunting licenses are 
sold, or on Fish and Game's website: http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us.

Experience a moose hunt firsthand by downloading the New Hampshire 
Wildlife Journal article "A New Hampshire Moose Hunt" (September/October 
2005), by Alan Briere, at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife_Journal/WJ_mag.htm. Visit a 
photo gallery from the 2004 N.H. moose hunt, and find more information on 
moose hunting in New Hampshire, at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm.

- ### -




-- 
Copyright 2005 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, 
Concord, NH 03301.  Comments or questions concerning this list should 
be directed to lpoinier@wildlife.state.nh.us.