Furbearer Hunting

Furbearer Hunting

A valid hunting license is needed to hunt beaver, coyote, gray fox, long-tailed weasel, mink, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, red fox, and striped skunk. See the chart above for season dates.

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
• 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
• Use or carry tree-climbing or cutting equipment for the purpose of dislodging an animal from a tree
• Hunt furbearers from a boat

Dog Running

The dog running season for raccoon and opossum extends from Feb. 1 through Oct. 25. A person needs a valid Indiana hunting license to chase wild animals with dogs. See license exemptions on License Information. It is legal to hunt and chase foxes (Oct. 15 - Feb. 28), raccoons (Nov. 8 - Jan. 31), and coyotes (Oct. 15 - March 15) with dogs during the established hunting seasons. Youth who are younger than 13 years old, do not possess a bow, crossbow, or firearm, and are accompanied by a valid license-holding individual who is at least 18 years of age are exempt from needing a hunting license while chasing a wild animal during the dog running season. Certain restrictions apply on DNR-managed properties. It is legal to chase foxes and coyotes with dogs year-round with a hunting license and permission of the landowner.

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.

Protected Species

Badgers and bobcats are protected species. It is illegal to take these furbearers in Indiana. If you accidentally trap a badger or bobcat, report the incident to an Indiana Conservation Officer (DNR Law Enforcement). There is no penalty for reporting accidental captures. If the animal is dead, the carcass must be surrendered to an Indiana 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 on protected wildlife, call the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife, 317-232-4200 (toll free 877-463-6367), or go to wildlife.IN.gov.

Wildlife Conflicts

Resident landowners or tenants may use legal methods, without a permit, to take a beaver, mink, muskrat, long-tailed weasel, red fox, gray fox, opossum, skunk, gray squirrel, fox squirrel, or raccoon that is on their own property and damaging property or posing a health or safety threat.

If the animal is released, it must be released in the county of capture with permission of the recipient landowner.

Groundhogs (woodchucks), moles, voles, red squirrels, and chipmunks may be taken at any time using any equipment without a permit.

Landowners may take coyotes at any time on the land they own without a special permit or license, or they may provide written permission for others to take coyotes on their land at any time. A valid hunting or trapping license or nuisance wild animal control permit is required to take a coyote on land other than your own.

Coyotes that are taken outside the hunting and trapping season by a landowner or someone with written permission from a landowner cannot be possessed live for more than 24 hours, and the live coyote cannot be sold, traded, bartered, or gifted.

For assistance with wildlife conflicts, contact your District Wildlife Biologist (District Wildlife Biologist).

Possession of Hides & Carcasses

There is no deadline for the possession of lawfully obtained untanned hides or unprocessed carcasses of furbearers taken during the season.

The sale of legally harvested furbearing mammals or untanned hides of furbearing mammals can be made to licensed fur buyers only.

Go to wildlife.IN.gov to obtain a list of Indiana licensed fur buyers, or call the Division of Fish & Wildlife at 317-232-4200 or 877-463-6367 (toll-free).

Possession of Live Furbearers

Only raccoons, red foxes, gray foxes, and coyotes can be retained alive during the trapping season for that species.

Raccoons, foxes, or coyotes that are removed from a trap and kept alive must be confined in a cage or other enclosure that: (a) makes escape of the mammal unlikely and prevents the entrance of a free-roaming mammal of the same species; (b) is structurally sound; (c) is of sufficient strength for the species involved; (d) is maintained in good repair and smoothly secured to prevent escape or injury to the mammal in the enclosure; (e) is constructed to allow sufficient space for individual posture, to turn about freely, and make normal social movements; (f) 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) and 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. If necessary for the mammal in possession, adequate lighting must be provided by artificial or natural means and cycled for appropriate photoperiod. 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 an Indiana Conservation Officer upon request.

River Otter Rules

A valid Indiana trapping license is required to set traps for river otters. An individual who sets a trap for river otters must be at least 10 years old, unless the individual has passed a state-certified trapper education course.

The bag limit is two otters per trapper per season. An individual who sets a trap that catches a river otter must count the animal toward their season limit. River otters taken during the trapping season must be reported to the DNR CheckIN Game system (CheckINGame.dnr.IN.gov or call 800-419-1326) within 24 hours of harvest. A CheckIN Game confirmation number will be provided and must be kept with the river otter until the animal is physically registered by a designated Indiana DNR employee or at an official DNR river otter check station. Check online at hunting.IN.gov for locations.

There is a statewide quota of 750 river otters for the 2023-2024 season. The season will close early if the quota is reached prior to March 15, 2024. Trappers are responsible for knowing if the quota has been met. The current reported river otter take can be found at hunting.IN.gov or by calling 317-232-4200. If the season closes early, an exception may be made for an individual who traps a river otter within 48 hours after the close of the season and has not yet reached their bag limit.

Individuals who kill river otters after the statewide quota has been met or after they have reached their bag limit must notify the DNR within 48 hours of capture and make arrangements for the DNR to take the carcass.

River otters trapped outside the season or in counties closed to river otter trapping must be turned in to the DNR. Call your local District Wildlife Biologist, local Conservation Officer, or 812-837-9536.

You must take the skinned carcass and separated pelt to a designated DNR employee or registration station for physical registration and CITES tagging within 15 days after the month of harvest.

River otter pelts will be sealed with a CITES tag and the carcass collected so DNR biologists can evaluate reproductive and age data from the animal. The information helps biologists make future season recommendations.

What is a CITES tag?

CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is an international agreement governing trade of endangered species. As a CITES participant, the United States follows certain requirements. River otters are in Appendix II of CITES, which means they are a “look-alike” species to other endangered otter species around the world.

To ensure river otters entering international trade were harvested legally in the United States, an unaltered CITES tag must be affixed to the pelt. Each state has uniquely marked tags. An otter pelt must have a CITES tag before it can be sold.

Furbearer Hunting Seasons
Furbearers	Hunting Seasons
Red & Gray Fox	Oct. 15 - Feb. 28
Coyote & Striped Skunk	Oct. 15 - March 15
Raccoon & Opossum	Nov. 8 - Jan. 31
Mink, Muskrat, Long-tailed Weasel	Nov. 15 - Jan. 31
Beaver	Nov. 15 - March 15
Dog Running (Chasing season only - no hunting)	Feb. 1 - Oct. 25

Trapping Regulations

Furbearing game animals in Indiana include beaver, coyote, gray fox, red fox, long-tailed weasel, mink, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, river otter, and striped skunk.

You must have a valid Indiana trapping license to set traps.

Traps must be checked and animals removed at least one time every 24 hours with the following exception: Traps that are designed to capture and kill the animal as a result of submerging the animal in water or crushing or asphyxiating the animal must be checked at least one time every 48 hours. The DNR recommends checking every trap within 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.

There are no daily bag or possession limits, except for river otters.

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 be euthanized immediately after removal from the trap or immediately upon transporting from the trap site.

Trapper Education

The DNR offers trapper education courses that describe basic methods for trapping furbearers, handling the catch, and the responsibilities of the trapper.

To find information on classes in your area, go to register-ed.com/programs/Indiana.

Trapping Seasons
Furbearers	Trapping Seasons
Red & Gray Fox	Oct. 15 - Jan. 31
Coyote & Striped Skunk	Oct. 15 - March 15
Raccoon & Opossum	Nov. 8 - Jan. 31
Mink, Muskrat, Long-tailed Weasel	Nov. 15 - Jan. 31
Beaver	Nov. 15 - March 15
River Otter (in designated counties)	Nov. 15 - March 15 (or until quota is met)