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Indiana

Hunting

Hunting

Furbearer Hunting

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

Furbearer Hunting

A valid hunting license is needed to hunt furbearers (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.