Furbearer Regulations
HUNTING GUIDE INDEX
Introduction | Deer | Furbearers | Game birds | Hunting Seasons
Small Game | Waterfowl & Migratory Birds | Wild Turkey
ON THIS PAGE
FURBEARER HUNTING | FURBEARER TRAPPING
Furbearer Hunting Regulations
A continuously burning light that can be seen for at least 500 feet must be carried while pursuing furbearing animals between sunset and sunrise.
It is illegal to:
- Remove wild animals from any cavity or den.
- To disturb the den or nest of any animal by shooting, digging, cutting or chipping; with the aid of smoke, fire, fumes, chemicals, ferret or other small animal; or with any device introduced into the hole where the animal is sheltered
- To use or carry tree climbing or cutting equipment for the purpose of dislodging an animal from a tree.
|
Furbearers |
Hunting Seasons |
|---|---|
| coyote, striped skunk | Oct 15, 2011 - Mar 15, 2012 |
| raccoon, opossum | Nov 8, 2011 - Jan 31, 2012 |
| red and gray fox | Oct 15, 2011 - Feb 28, 2012 |
| dog running (raccoon and opossum only) | Feb 1, 2011 - Oct 25 - 2011 |
Dog Running
The dog running season for raccoon and opossum extends from noon Feb. 1 through noon Oct. 25. A person needs a valid Indiana hunting license; however, it is illegal to possess a firearm, air rifle, or another device capable of taking a raccoon or opossum while chasing a raccoon or opossum during the dog running season, unless the individual has a valid unlimited license to carry a handgun under IC 35-47-2. It is legal to hunt foxes (Oct. 15 to Feb. 28), raccoons (Nov. 8 to Jan. 31), and coyotes (Oct. 15 to March 15) with dogs during the established hunting seasons.
Fox & Coyote Hunting
It is legal to hunt fox and coyote with the use of mouth- or hand-operated calls, or with the use of recorded calls. Spotlights may be used to take fox and coyote. There are no restrictions on hunting hours or firearms for hunting fox and coyote. It is illegal to hunt fox or coyote from a roadway or with the use of any motor-driven conveyance.
Trapping Regulations
You must have a valid Indiana trapping license to set traps.
Traps may not be set prior to 8 a.m. on opening day of trapping season. Traps must be checked and animals removed at least one time every 24 hours. Traps may be set at any distance from openings to tile drains or entrances to beaver or muskrat lodges. Tree climbing equipment may not be used as an aid in removing wild animals from trees. The use of motor-driven watercraft is permitted for purposes of setting or checking trap lines.
Trapping Seasons
Furbearing game animals in Indiana include beaver, coyote, gray fox, red fox, long-tailed weasel, mink, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, and striped skunk. All trapping seasons are from 8 a.m. of the first day of the season to noon of the last day of the season. There are no daily bag or possession limits.
Furbearers (except for raccoons, foxes and coyotes that can be retained alive) that are trapped must either be released into the wild in the county in which they were captured within 24 hours of capturing the animals, or they must be euthanized immediately after removal from the trap or immediately upon transporting from the trap site..
|
Furbearers |
Trapping Seasons |
|---|---|
| coyote, striped skunk | Oct 15, 2011 - Mar 15, 2012 |
| beaver | Nov 15, 2011 - Mar 15, 2012 |
| weasel (long-tailed only), mink, muskrat | Nov 15, 2011 - Jan 31, 2012 |
| raccoon, opossum | Nov 8, 2011 - Jan 31, 2012 |
| red and gray fox | Oct 15, 2011 - Jan 31, 2012 |
Possession of Hides/Carcasses
It is illegal to possess the untanned hides or unprocessed carcasses of furbearers, except for coyotes, after May 15 of the year the hunting or trapping season ended or after June 15 if you submit a signed form to the DNR by May 15 of the number of untanned hides and unprocessed carcasses still in your possession by species. The sale of legally harvested furbearing mammals or untanned hides of furbearing mammals can be made to licensed fur buyers only. Click here for a list of Indiana licensed fur buyers, or call the Division of Fish and Wildlife at (317) 232-4102.
Possession of Live Furbearers
Only raccoons, red foxes, gray foxes, and coyotes can be retained alive during the trapping season for that species. Furbearers kept alive during the season must be euthanized at the completion of the season or you will need to apply for a game breeder license or wild animal possession permit within 5 days after the close of the season to continue to keep them alive.
Raccoons, foxes or coyotes that are removed from a trap and kept alive must be confined in a cage or other enclosure:
(a) that makes escape of the mammal unlikely and prevents the entrance of a free-roaming mammal of the same species.
(b) that is structurally sound.
(c) that is of sufficient strength for the species involved.
(d) that is maintained in good repair and smoothly secured to prevent escape or injury to the mammal in the enclosure.
(e) that is constructed to allow sufficient space for individual posture, to turn about freely, and make normal social movements.
(f) that is secured when unattended with protective devices at entrances and exits to prevent escapes if kept outdoors and if needed to prevent injuries to human or the mammal’s health. (g) that has ambient ventilation by means of windows, doors, vents, fans, or air conditioning to protect the health of the mammal and to minimize drafts, odors and condensation.
Night quarters, transportation cages, and nesting boxes may not be used as primary housing. Surface water must be adequately drained from a cage or enclosure where the mammal is housed. Adequate lighting must be provided by artificial or natural means and cycled for appropriate photoperiod, if necessary for the mammal in possession. The cages or enclosures must also have adequate shelter from the elements and provide adequate shade for the animals. You must remove and dispose of food wastes, feces, urine and bedding from the enclosure. You must also remove from the enclosure and appropriately dispose of trash, garbage, debris, and carcasses as soon as they are observed.
You must also provide daily: 1) fresh, clean drinking water in clean containers and 2) food that is unspoiled, uncontaminated, appropriate to the dietary needs of the mammal, and of sufficient quantity for the mammal involved.
Furbearers that are possessed alive and their cages or other enclosures must be made available for inspection by a conservation officer upon request.
Trapper Education
The DNR offers trapper education courses that describe basic methods for trapping furbearers, handling the catch and the responsibilities of the trapper. The DNR, in cooperation with trapper associations, offers these courses throughout the state. The course takes approximately six hours to complete. For information on classes in your area, call your local DNR Law Enforcement district office.
For more intensive training, the Furtakers of America, in cooperation with the DNR and Purdue University, offers the Professional Trapper’s Short Course each fall in northeast Indiana. The week-long course covers the biology and management of furbearers, nuisance wildlife control, diseases associated with wildlife, trapping regulations, and public perceptions of trapping. The focus is on the mastery of field techniques. Approximately eight hours are spent afield each day. Students are divided into small groups based on level of experience to ensure that each student receives the best field training possible. Two continuing education credits are offered through Purdue University for completion of the course. For more information, contact Gene Beeber, 7701 Chet Lane, Louisville, KY, 40214.
Avoid Trapping Otter
River otters were reintroduced to Indiana in the mid- to late-1990s. The distribution of river otters has expanded every year since reintroduction and they potentially can be found throughout the state. River otters are a protected species and care should be taken to avoid trapping otters while pursuing other furbearer species. Beaver, raccoon and otter share similar habitats, so many trap sets that are successful for beaver and raccoon trapping are also effective for trapping otter. Whether you are trapping during the established season or doing wildlife control work under a DNR-issued permit, employ all the tactics you can to avoid accidentally capturing otters.
For more information on creating species-specific sets, request the publication Avoiding Otter While Trapping Beaver and Raccoon. Write or call the DNR Customer Service Center, 402 W. Washington St., W160, Indianapolis, IN 46204, (317) 232-4200, or click on Avoiding Otter While Trapping Beaver and Raccoon.
Foothold Traps
Click here for information regarding trap sizes.
It is illegal to use a foothold trap with saw-toothed or spiked jaws. It is illegal to take a wild animal with a foothold trap if the widest inside jaw-spread measured perpendicular to the trap’s base plate and the inside width between the trap’s hinge posts (both measurements) is greater than 5¾ inches and less than or equal to 6½ inches, unless the jaws of the trap have at least a 1/8 inch offset, the gap of the offset is filled with securely attached rubber pads, or the trap is completely covered by water.
Securely attached rubber pads are those attached with bolts or rivets. The trap’s hinge posts must be maintained at a 90-degree angle to the trap’s baseplate. It is illegal to take a wild animal with a foothold trap on land if the widest inside jaw-spread measured perpendicular to the trap’s baseplate and the inside width between the trap’s hinge posts is greater than 6½ inches.
It is illegal to set or place a stake, chain, drag or another portion of a trap that is designed to take a wild animal, except during a season established for trapping that wild animal.
Body Gripping Traps (Conibears)
A person must not take a wild animal with a Conibear, Dahlgren, Bigelow or other body-gripping trap on land if the widest inside jaw-spread measured at the horizontal center of the trap’s jaws (Figure 3) and the widest horizontal inside jaw-spread measured at the vertical center of the trap’s jaws (Figure 4) is: 1. Larger than 7.5 inches if square or 2. Larger than 8 inches if round Otherwise, the trap must be completely covered by water.
Snares
It is only legal to use a snare to trap a wild animal on land you own or with the written permission of the landowner. The maximum legal circumference for snare loops is 15 inches, unless at least half of the snare loop is covered by water or if the snare employs a relaxing snare lock. A relaxing snare lock allows the snare loop to loosen slightly to reduce the possibility of strangulation. Regulations on snare size and lock are designed to prevent accidental loss of domestic animals.
Box Traps
Furbearers may be captured in box traps used on land or underwater.
Raccoon: Non-resident Hunting/Trapping
Indiana law allows non-residents to hunt or trap raccoons in Indiana on a reciprocal basis. That means non-residents can hunt or trap raccoons only when the season is open to Indiana residents in the non-resident’s state. If another state restricts Indiana hunters from hunting or trapping raccoons in that state, residents of that state will be restricted on the same basis.
For example, if state X does not allow Indiana residents to hunt raccoons for the first two weeks of raccoon season, then residents of state X are not allowed to hunt in Indiana for the first two weeks of the Indiana raccoon season. In addition, the raccoon season is open to residents of other states only on days when the Indiana raccoon season and the raccoon season in the non-resident’s state coincide.
Protected Wildlife
Badgers, bobcats and river otters are protected by law. It is illegal to take these furbearers in Indiana. If you accidentally trap a badger, bobcat or river otter, report the incident to a conservation officer. There is no penalty for reporting accidental captures. If the animal is dead, the carcass must be surrendered to a conservation officer. Information provided by hunters and trappers is an important means of determining the status and distribution of these species in Indiana.
For more information on non-game and endangered wildlife, call the DNR Wildlife Diversity Section, (317) 232-4200 or go to endangeredwildlife.IN.gov.
Nuisance Animals
A resident landowner or tenant may take, using legal methods, without a permit, a beaver, mink, muskrat, long-tailed weasel, red fox, gray fox, opossum, skunk, gray squirrel, fox squirrel or raccoon that is discovered damaging property. The landowner or tenant who takes the animal must release it on land in the county where it was captured only with permission of the landowner or property manager (public land) or euthanize the animal within 24 hours of capture. These nuisance animals cannot be possessed for more than 24 hours and cannot be sold, traded, bartered or gifted.
If the animal is released, it must be released in the county of capture. The conservation officer will direct you on how to dispose of the animal.
Ground hogs (woodchucks) may be taken at any time using any equipment.
Landowners may take coyotes at any time on the land they own or provide written permission for others to take coyotes on their land at any time, without a permit.
Coyotes that are taken outside the hunting and trapping season by a landowner or someone with written permission from a land owner cannot be possessed live for more than 24 hours, and the live coyote cannot be sold, traded, bartered or gifted.
Stay Connected
