New BrunswickAfter a few days in the woods this week, Tanya Everett got lucky and tagged her first moose ever, estimated to weigh more than 700 pounds or 315 kilograms. She’s one of nearly 5,000 hunters to win a moose hunting licence in New Brunswick this year.Nearly 5,000 licences issued for New Brunswick’s 5-day fall moose huntAllyson McCormack · CBC News · Posted: Sep 26, 2025 5:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoLifelong hunter Tanya Everett of Salisbury poses with the head of a moose she tagged in Dungarvon on Thursday. (Allyson McCormack/CBC)It’s been a long time coming, but avid Salisbury hunter Tanya Everett finally got to show off the moose she tagged in Dungarvon.Everett has been putting her name in for a licence off and on since she was a teenager. This was her lucky year. And after three days in the woods with her nephew and second gun, Caleb Smith, a lucky shot did the trick.”I could hear him coming up through the woods, but I couldn’t see him,” she said at the provincial registration station in the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Complex in Fredericton on Friday. “So Caleb was in a different spot and he just happened to step out in a spot where he could get him…. We’re pretty proud of him.”Everett registered her moose online, and filled out the paperwork with her butcher. There’s no way to say exactly how big the bull was, but she said a few people have estimated it at more than 700 pounds, which is 317 kilograms.She’s pleased with the size, and the whole experience. “It was a lot of fun. It’s peaceful, actually, believe it or not, and quiet. You get a little bit of excitement when you hear them calling back.”Everett said she’ll be putting in for her licence again next year. In the meantime, she plans to have the head mounted as a trophy in her home.Fewer licences issued this yearThe province issued 4,794 resident licences and 120 non-resident licences this year, down 330 licences from last year. Scott Macinnis visited the moose weigh-in station in Fredericton Friday after spending the earlier part of the week in the woods with friends. (Allyson McCormack/CBC)Scott Macinnis wasn’t one of the lucky licence holders, but that didn’t keep him out of the woods, or the weigh station. He stopped by on Friday to get a look at the bulls and cows being brought in. He said this season seemed quieter than previous years.”We were out in what they call the Grand John, out towards Stanley,” he said. “We spent three days in the woods. We did a lot of driving, but we only saw three moose overall.” We just go out. If they got a moose, we’ll help them drag it out and load it up, that kind of thing.— Scott MacinnisHe hasn’t had a licence since 2017, but he never misses the chance to go out and be part of the action and lend a hand when needed. “We don’t get in anybody’s way,” he said. “We just go out. If they got a moose, we’ll help them drag it out and load it up, that kind of thing.”It’s just basically to go out and to meet everyone that we haven’t seen in a year.” WATCH | What forestry students are learning about ticks this moose-hunting season: N.B. moose-hunting season helps forestry students learn about ticks Students from the Maritime College of Forest Technology were at the moose-hunt registration station in Fredericton during this fall’s five-day hunt to get a better understanding of the state of the New Brunswick tick population. Tallying moose ticksOther people were at the moose registration station to eyeball much smaller creatures.Maritime College of Forest Technology instructor Julie Henderson spent much of the week at the station with her students, to get a better understanding of the tick population this season. Tick larvae come out at this time of year looking to attach to warm-blooded hosts, including moose. Those are the numbers Henderson is monitoring — and so far, they appear to be up.Julie Henderson and her students at the Maritime College of Forest Technology inspect the moose carcasses brought to the registration station, looking for ticks. (Allyson McCormack/CBC)”We’re certainly seeing a lot of ticks on the moose,” she said. “I haven’t actually compared the numbers, but I would say slightly higher than last year. And we’ve only had one moose come through that didn’t have some ticks on it.”Henderson said they follow a protocol that counts the number of ticks in four different 10-centimetre patches of a carcass, parting the hair and tallying up the ticks.”They’ll stay on the moose all year,” she said, pointing out that the constant irritant of being bitten, itching and losing blood can seriously harm the animals. For the juvenile moose, it can definitely cause them to die.— Julie Henderson, Maritime College of Forest Technology”For the female moose, it can cause quite a bit of stress and potentially impact their reproductive rates. And for the juvenile moose, it can definitely cause them to die.” Those ticks stay on the moose all winter long, finally dropping off in late summer or early fall, but not before the females lay their eggs and the whole process repeats. Nearly 5,000 moose licences were issued in New Brunswick this year for residents and non-residents. (Allyson McCormack/CBC)Gregor Wilson is in his second year with the college. The longtime hunter and fisher has also worked in the forestry industry so he’s no stranger to moose — or ticks. But he said the hands-on experience this week has been valuable. “I’ve been working in the woods for the last six or seven years and there’s always been ticks around,” he said. “But seeing them on the moose and seeing that patchy hair on them, it can affect them quite a bit.”Aside from the tick counting, Wilson has enjoyed watching the moose come in. Opening day was the busiest so far, he said. “We had a small bull come in early morning, followed by a couple of cows,” he said. “And as the day went on, the moose got bigger.”Our biggest one that day was 901 pounds, weighed on the scale. And that’s been the biggest one so far this week.”The moose hunt ends on Saturday. ABOUT THE AUTHORAllyson McCormack is a producer with CBC New Brunswick, based in Fredericton. She has been with CBC News since 2008.
Salisbury hunter tags her 1st moose after 10 years of trying for a licence
