301 KAR 2:251. Hunting and trapping seasons and limits for furbearers.

301 KAR 2:251. Hunting and trapping seasons and limits for furbearers.

RELATES TO: KRS 150.025(1), 150.340, 150.370(1), 150.399, 150.400, 150.410, 150.990

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 150.025(1)

NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 150.025(1) authorizes the department to establish hunting seasons and to regulate bag and possession limits, the methods of taking and the devices used to take wildlife. This administrative regulation is necessary to ensure the permanent and continued supply of furbearer species by protecting them from overharvest.

Section 1. Definitions. (1) "Body-gripping trap" means a commercially manufactured spring-loaded trap designed to kill the animal upon capture.

(2) "Dry land set" means a trap not set to drown an animal upon capture.

(3) "Foothold trap" means a commercially manufactured spring-loaded trap with smooth, metallic jaws that close upon an animal's foot.

(4) "Furbearers" mean mink, muskrat, beaver, raccoon, opossum, gray fox, red fox, weasels, river otter, bobcat, coyote and striped skunk.

(5) "Modern gun deer season" means the season established by 301 KAR 2:172.

(6) "Nonlocking snare" means a trap consisting of a wire, cable or string loop without a device to keep the loop from loosening.

(7) "Water set" means a trap set to drown an animal upon capture.

Section 2. Hunting and Trapping Seasons. Except as specified in 301 KAR 2:049 or 301 KAR 2:125, a person shall not take the following wildlife except during the dates specified in this section:

(1) Raccoon and opossum:

(a) Hunting - November 1 through noon the last day of February. During the modern gun deer season, a raccoon or opossum hunter shall not:

1. Take raccoons or opossums during daylight hours; or

2. Carry a gun except a.22 caliber rimfire gun.

(b) Trapping - noon the third day of the modern gun deer season through noon the last day of February.

(2) Coyote:

(a) Hunting: year round.

(b) Trapping: noon the third day of modern gun deer season through noon the last day of February.

(3) Bobcat:

(a) Hunting: noon the third Saturday in November through January 31.

(b) Trapping: noon the third day of the modern gun deer season through January 31.

(4) All other furbearers: noon the third day of the modern gun deer season through noon, the last day of February.

(5) Furbearers taken by falconry: September 1 through March 30.

(6) There shall not be a closed season on:

(a) Chasing red and gray foxes during daylight hours for sport and not to kill; and

(b) Chasing raccoons or opossums for sport and not to kill.

(7) Free youth week. For seven (7) consecutive days beginning on the Saturday after Christmas, a youth may hunt or trap furbearers without a hunting or trapping license. Statewide requirements and bag limits apply.

Section 3. Bag Limits. (1) There shall not be a bag limit on furbearers except bobcats, river otters, and those taken by falconry.

(2) A person shall not take more than five (5) bobcats per season; only three (3) bobcats may be taken with a gun.

(3) A person shall not take more than six (6) river otters per season.

(4) A falconer hunting within the falconry season but outside the dates specified in Section 2(1) through (4) of this administrative regulation shall not take more than two (2) of any furbearer.

Section 4. Legal Hours of Take. A person shall not take furbearers by hunting except during the times specified in this section.

(1) Furbearers: daylight hours only, except raccoon and opossum.

(2) Raccoon and opossum: day or night, except that a person shall not take raccoons or opossums during daylight hours during the modern gun deer season.

Section 5. Use of Calls. A hunter may use a hand- or mouth-operated call, electronic call or attracting device.

Section 6. A hunter shall not possess buckshot.

Section 7. Raccoon and Opossum Restrictions. (1) A hunter shall not use a light from a boat to take raccoon or opossum.

(2) Except as specified in subsection (3) of this section, a person chasing raccoon or opossum from noon, March 1 through October 31 shall not use or carry a:

(a) Gun;

(b) Slingshot;

(d) Squealer; or

(e) Similar device capable of killing, injuring or forcing a raccoon or opossum from a tree or den.

(3) A person participating in a department-approved raccoon dog trial sanctioned by one (1) of the following organizations may use a squealer:

(a) The American Coon Hunters Association;

(b) The American Kennel Club/American Coon Hunters Association;

(d) The Professional Kennel Club;

(e) The United Coon Hunters Association; and

(f) The United Kennel Club.

Section 8. Trapping Methods. (1) A person trapping on dry land shall not:

(a) Set traps closer than ten (10) feet apart; or

(b) Use a trap except a:

1. Deadfall;

2. Wire cage or box trap;

3. Foothold trap with a maximum inside jaw spread of six (6) inches measured perpendicular to the hinges;

4. Body-gripping trap with a maximum inside jaw spread of seven and one-half (7.5) inches measured parallel with the trigger; or

5. A nonlocking snare.

(2) There shall be no restrictions on a trap used as a water set.

(3) A trap shall not be set in a trail or path commonly used by a human or a domestic animal.

(4) A trapper may use lights from a boat or a vehicle.

Section 9. Harvest Recording. Immediately after taking a river otter or bobcat, a person shall:

(1) Record, in writing, the species, date taken, county where taken, and sex of the river otter or bobcat before moving the carcass from the site where taken. This information shall be logged and registered on one (1) of the following:

(a) Hunter’s log section on the reverse side of a license or permit;

(b) Hunter's log produced in a hunting guide;

(d) Hunter’s log available from any KDSS agent; or

(e) An index card or reasonable facsimile thereof; and

(2) Retain the completed hunter’s log in his possession whenever the hunter is in the field during the current season.

Section 10. Checking a River Otter or Bobcat. (1) A person shall check a harvested river otter or bobcat by:

(a) Calling the toll free number listed in the current fall hunting and trapping guide on the day the river otter or bobcat is harvested;

(b) Providing the information requested by the automated check-in system; and

(c) Writing the confirmation number given by the system on the hunter's log described in Section 10 of this administrative regulation.

(2) If a harvested river otter or bobcat leaves the possession of a hunter and does not have a Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) tag attached to it, the hunter shall attach a handmade tag, which contains the confirmation number, hunter’s name, and a phone number, to the carcass.

(3) A person shall not knowingly provide false information when completing the hunter’s log, checking a river otter or bobcat, or creating a carcass tag.

(4) A person wishing to sell a river otter or bobcat pelt to a licensed fur processor, fur buyer or for export shall call the department’s toll-free information number and request a CITES tag by providing:

(a) A valid confirmation number as described in subsection (1) of this section; and

(b) A street address where the tag is to be mailed.

(5) The CITES tag shall be attached to the skin or unskinned carcass per the instructions provided and remain with the pelt until processing.

(6) Possession of an unused CITES tag is prohibited unless authorized by the department.

Section 11. Transporting and Processing River Otter or Bobcat. (1) A person shall:

(a) Have proof that a river otter or bobcat or parts brought into Kentucky were legally taken;

(b) Not sell river otter or bobcat pelts except to a licensed:

1. Fur buyer;

2. Fur processor; or

3. Taxidermist.

(2) A taxidermist or other individual who commercially processes river otters and bobcats shall:

(a) Not accept river otter or bobcat carcasses or any part of a river otter or bobcat without a proper carcass tag or CITES tag described in Section 11 of this administrative regulation; and

(b) Keep accurate records of the hunter's name, address, confirmation or CITES tag number, and date received for each river otter or bobcat in his possession. (20 Ky.R. 2928; Am. 3193; eff. 6-2-94; 21 Ky.R. 1915; 2478; eff. 4-6-95; 22 Ky.R. 1491; eff. 4-5-96; 23 Ky.R. 3879; eff. 7-9-97; 25 Ky.R. 1435; eff. 2-10-99; 27 Ky.R. 214; 754; eff. 8-24-2000; 3340; 28 Ky.R. 363; eff. 8-15-2001; 2423; eff. 7-15-02; 29 Ky.R. 2139; eff. 4-11-03; 2964; eff. 8-13-03; 31 Ky.R. 838; 1077; eff. 1-4-05; 1717; eff. 6-8-05; 32 Ky.R. 1765; eff. 6-2-06; 33 Ky.R. 519; eff. 10-11-06; 3426; 3604; eff. 6-13-07.)