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Delaware

Hunting

Hunting

Furbearer Trapping & Hunting

Furbearer Trapping Seasons

Species

Season

Muskrat, Mink, Otter

Raccoon,* Opossum, Nutria

New Castle County** Dec. 1- Mar. 10

Kent and Sussex Counties Dec. 15 - Mar. 15

Beaver

Dec. 1 - Mar. 20***

Red Fox, Coyote

Dec. 1 - Mar. 10

Groundhog

July 1 - June 30

A trapping license is not required to trap groundhogs.

Furbearer Hunting Seasons and Bag Limits

Species

Season

Limit

Note

Raccoon and
Opossum

Chase only season (no harvest allowed):

Sept. 1 - Oct. 29*

Mar. 1 - Mar. 30

Hunting season:

Nov. 1 - Feb. 29**

No Limit

* Chase Only Season: Season closed during the Oct. muzzleloader and Oct. antlerless deer seasons. See Deer Hunting for deer season dates.

** Hunting Season: Season closed during the Nov. youth and non-ambulatory hunt and Nov. general firearm deer seasons. Special hunting hours during the Dec. antlerless, Jan. straight-walled pistol-caliber rifle and handgun, Jan. general firearm, and Jan. muzzleloader seasons are 7:00 PM until midnight.

See Deer Hunting for deer season dates.

See Raccoons section on next page for special zone where season is open all year, except Sundays, including during the deer seasons listed above.

Raccoons and opossums may be hunted with compound, recurve, longbow, shotgun, or .22 caliber rimfire pistol.

Red Fox

Chase only season (no harvest allowed): Oct. 1 - Apr. 30*except season closed during deer shotgun, muzzleloader and antlerless seasons occurring Oct. thru Dec.

Hunt:
Nov. 1 - Feb. 29**

No Limit

* Season closed during the Oct. muzzleloader, Oct. antlerless, Nov. youth and non-ambulatory hunt, Nov. general firearm, and Dec. antlerless seasons. Season open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on private land only during the Jan. straight-walled pistol-caliber rifle and handgun, Jan. general firearm, and Jan. muzzleloader deer seasons provided the owner of the private land has authorized such fox chasing to occur thereon. See Deer Hunting for deer season dates.

** Red fox may be harvested with a compound, recurve, longbow, crossbow, shotgun, muzzleloading rifle, rimfire or centerfire rifle up to .25 caliber.

Red fox may not be harvested with handguns or straight-walled pistol-caliber rifles.

See next page for firearm restrictions during firearms deer seasons.

Coyote

Sept. 1 - Feb. 29

No Limit

Coyotes may be harvested with compound, recurve, longbow, crossbow, shotgun, muzzleloading rifle, rimfire, or centerfire rifle up to .25 caliber.

Coyotes may not be harvested with handguns or straight-walled pistol-caliber rifles.

See next page for firearm restrictions during firearms deer seasons.

Beaver

Dec. 1 - Mar. 20
Private Land Only
(see pg. 40)

8 per Season

(Hunting and Trapping Combined)

Beavers may be hunted with shotguns, compound, recurve, or longbows.

State Wildlife Areas

Each year the Division accepts sealed bids for persons to trap on its wildlife areas. Bidding information is published in early August and bids are opened in early October. Bid information can be obtained through the Office of Management and Budget Bid Solicitation website at http://bids.delaware.gov or by calling the Division at 302-739-9912. No trapping is permitted on any Division lands without a permit.

Trapping Prohibitions – it is Unlawful to:

  • Use traps to take wildlife except muskrats, mink, otter, beaver, raccoons, opossum, groundhogs, nutria, red foxes, and coyotes. Rabbits may be trapped by landowners, their tenants, or their respective children during the open season.
  • Use any type of trap, except for muskrats, without marking the trap with a metal tag stating the trapper’s license number and year or the trapper’s name and address.
  • Set traps on public or private land without first acquiring written permission from the landowner. For your convenience, trappers who wish to trap on private property may use the Private Land Trapping Permission Form on page 8 in this guide.
  • Fail to visit traps, except those set for muskrats, at least once every 24 hours.
  • Set traps any time before the opening day of a season or any time after the last day of a season. (There is no provision in Delaware’s laws to set up traps the day before a season opens or to allow the removal of traps for several days after a season closes.)
  • Set foothold traps with a jaw spread in excess of 6 ½” above the waterline or 7 ¾” beneath the waterline. “Waterline” shall refer to beneath the surface of the water or below the mean high tide line in an area ordinarily subject to the rise and fall of the tide. Jaw spread is measured as the widest distance from this inside of both jaws on a line drawn perpendicular through the jaw pivot points when the trap is in the set position.
  • Set foothold traps in areas above the waterline without them having offset, laminated, or padded jaws, with the exception being that coil-spring traps with a jaw spread of 4 inches or less and long-spring traps with a jaw spread of 4 ½ inches or less do not need to be padded, laminated or have offset jaws.
  • Set foothold traps with toothed or serrated jaws.
  • Set snares, now referred to as cable restraints, without the following criteria being met: comprised of stranded steel cable with a minimum diameter of 5/64 inches. Cable restraints must be equipped with a relaxing-type lock. The cable may not exceed 7 feet in length from the anchor point to the relaxing lock and must be equipped with at least one swivel device, which allows for 360° rotation, between the loop and the anchor. The cable restraint must have stops affixed to the cable to ensure that the cable that makes up the loop may not have a circumference greater than 38 inches when fully open, or a circumference less than 6 ¼ inches when fully closed. Cable restraints with a maximum loop circumference of 12 ½ inches do not require cable stops. Cable restraints must be maintained in good condition so that all components operate properly.
  • Move, take, or damage any trap, or take, or attempt to take, wildlife from any trap without first acquiring specific advance permission.
  • Use killer or conibear traps with a jaw spread in excess of 5 inches.
  • Use diving or box traps for muskrats.
  • Set traps (except box/cage traps) within 10’ of exposed meat used as bait. The use of animal fur or feathers without any attached animal tissue is not restricted.
  • Trap within 100 yards of an occupied structure (unless trapper is the owner or occupant, or has permission from the owner or occupant).

TRAP TAGS

  • Every trapper (licensed or license exempt trapper) must place a trap tag on every trap they set in the field for the purpose of catching snapping turtles and furbearers, excluding muskrats. While traps that are set for muskrats are not required to be tagged, the Division recommends tagging these traps because sometimes these traps may capture an animal other than a muskrat. Tagging all traps would ensure a trapper remains compliant with the rules pertaining to trap tags for any furbearer they catch.
  • A trap tag is used to enable a Natural Resource Police Officer or landowner to identify the owner of the trap. Trap tags must be metallic and must be affixed to all traps, except those set to capture muskrats. The tag needs to have either the words “Trapping License, Delaware” and the trap owner’s trapping license or license exempt number and the year of issuance or the owner’s name and address.
  • The Division will provide to any trapper (license or license exempt) a one-time allotment of 25 tags for free. Additional tags may be purchased from the Division at the R&R Front Desk for $4 per 25 tags. These Division-issued tags simply state, “Trapping License Delaware” and the trapper needs to add their personal information (engraving is recommended). Tags may also be made by the trapper or purchased from a private vendor.

Trapping from Boats

An individual may use a boat to tend lawfully set traps for fur-bearing wildlife

Raccoons

Delaware Racoon trapping map.

Raccoons may be trapped in season statewide with foothold traps, including foot encapsulating style traps, cable restraints, or box traps operated to confine but not harm the entrapped animal. The trap opening of box/cage traps may not exceed 195 square inches. At any time of the year (except on Sundays).

Raccoons may be hunted and trapped any time of the year on private land in New Castle and Kent Counties east of Rte. 13 from Federal School Lane (near the Ommelanden Range in New Castle County) south to the St. Jones River in Kent County. Where Rte. 13 and Rte. 1 split in Dover, the westerly boundary follows Rte. 1 until it meets the St. Jones River with permission from the landowner. In all other areas of the state, the regular season applies. See previous page.

Coyotes

Anyone that shoots or traps a coyote must report the harvest by contacting the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 302-735-3600 by the close of business on the day following the harvest. Harvest reports are an important way for Division biologists to track coyote distribution and abundance across the state. During any deer firearms season, it will be unlawful to hunt coyotes with any firearm that is not also legal for deer hunting except coyotes may never be harvested with a straight-walled pistol-caliber rifle or handgun. Hides of coyotes legally taken may be sold.

River Otter

Otters must be tagged by an authorized representative of the Division of Fish and Wildlife in accordance with CITES requirements. Please contact the Division at 302-735-3600 to make arrangements to have your otter tagged once the pelt has been stretched and dried but before it is sold or shipped out of state. Tags will not be distributed to trappers but instead must be affixed to otter pelts by a representative from the Division so bring your pelts with you for tagging.

Beaver

Landowners with damage caused by beavers may take up to 8 per season (Hunting and Trapping Combined) without a permit from the Division from December 1 through March 20 provided they report their catch by April 1. Beavers may not be taken at any other time. More than 8 may be taken with a permit. Beaver hides and the meat of lawfully taken beaver harvested anywhere within or outside of Delaware may be sold.

Red Fox

It is unlawful to kill a red fox that is being pursued by dogs. During any deer firearms season, it will be unlawful to hunt red fox with any firearm that is not also legal for deer hunting except red fox may never be harvested with a straight-walled pistol-caliber rifle or handgun. It is unlawful to hunt red fox with the aid of a light.

Gray Fox

The collateral take of gray fox shall not be unlawful south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal during the established hunting and trapping seasons for red fox. No take is permitted north of the canal. Anyone that shoots or traps a gray fox must report the take to the Division within 7 days of the harvest by calling 302-735-3600.

Nutria

Anyone that traps a nutria must report the harvest by contacting the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 302-735-3600 by the close of business on the day following the harvest. Harvest reports are an important way for Division biologists to track nutria distribution and abundance across the state. Captured nutria may not be released back into the wild alive and must be killed. Hides of nutria legally taken may be sold.

Coyotes

Adult coyotes generally weigh 20–45 pounds. Coyotes look similar to collie dogs. They have erect, pointed ears, a slender muzzle, and a bushy tail. Most coyotes are brownish gray in color with a light gray to cream-colored belly although they can vary in color from reddish to even black. Coyote tracks are often confused with those made by a red fox or domestic dog likely due to the variation in size and shape of domestic dog breeds, some of which are similar to coyotes. Coyote tracks are smaller than many people think and are oval in shape, whereas dog tracks are generally more round. Additionally, the middle toe pads of a coyote track generally point inward whereas the toe pads of a domestic dog generally do not. For more information on coyotes in Delaware, please visit https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/hunting/coyotes/