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FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 11, 2025) — In accordance with KRS 150.025, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is providing updated information about proposed fish and wildlife-related regulation amendments that have received final legislative approval and are now in effect.
The following summarizes provisions that relate to or affect Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and services the agency provides to hunters, anglers and the public at large.
Title 301 Chapter 001 - Fish
301 KAR 1:201. Taking of fish by traditional fishing methods.
This administrative regulation establishes size limits, daily limits and possession limits for sport fish that may be taken from Kentucky waters and is necessary to properly manage the sport fish populations of Kentucky. This amendment will remove the special catch and release regulations on Clear Fork in Logan and Warren counties and return all sport fish to statewide regulations. This amendment removes the special four-fish daily limit on channel catfish and 15-fish daily limit on sunfish for all ponds on the Kentucky River Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Boone Tract and places these species under statewide regulations. In addition, this amendment increases the current 9-inch crappie size limit at Nolin River and Rough River lakes to 10 inches and adds the Rockcastle River to the list of waterbodies with an 18- to 26-inch slot limit and two-fish daily limit for walleye. As cleanups, “Barkley Lake” and “Cumberland Lake” were changed to “Lake Barkley” and “Lake Cumberland”.
Effective June 18, 2025.
Title 301 Chapter 002 – Game
301 KAR 2:041. Shooting areas, dog training areas, commercial foxhound training enclosures, and bobwhite shoot-to-train season.
This administrative regulation establishes requirements for the possession, holding, commercial activity, and transportation of red fox and coyote for foxhound training enclosures. This regulation amendment provides a defined process for the permitting, holding and transportation of wildlife used during shoot-to-train season, shooting areas, dog training areas and commercial and noncommercial foxhound training enclosures. These amendments establish requirements for species and number of animals that may be maintained within foxhound training enclosures, the possession and transport of red fox and coyotes, fencing to maintain red fox and coyote within foxhound training enclosures, size of enclosures, quarantine and disease response, record keeping and reporting and permitting and enforcement.
Effective June 3, 2025.
301 KAR 2:081. Transportation and holding of live native wildlife.
This administrative regulation establishes requirements for the buying, selling, holding, commercial activity and transportation of native wildlife, and provides for the health and welfare of native wildlife and the safety of Kentucky citizens. These amendments allow for the possession of native wild rabbits and establish the species and permitting requirements for wildlife taken and transferred to foxhound training enclosures. These amendments are necessary to allow people to possess native wild rabbits and streamline the permitting for foxhound training enclosures.
Effective May 6, 2025.
301 KAR 2:082. Transportation and holding of live exotic wildlife.
This administrative regulation establishes requirements for importation, transportation, and possession of exotic wildlife and provides a defined process for the holding and transportation of live exotic wildlife. These provisions are for the protection of the native ecosystem, health and welfare of native wildlife from disease and the safety of Kentucky citizens. This amendment allows the possession of wild rabbits, hares and pikas within Kentucky, with the exception of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that morphologically resemble wild European rabbits. This amendment was necessary to protect native rabbit species from disease, which could impact populations.
301 KAR 2:132. Elk hunting seasons, permits, zones, and requirements.
This administrative regulation establishes the requirements for the elk permit drawing and quota hunts, the conditions under which special commission permits, landowner cooperator permits, elk restoration permits and cooperator voucher permits can be used, and procedures for elk damage abatement. These requirements were necessary to effectively manage elk populations in Kentucky, while providing optimal elk hunting and tourism opportunities. This amendment requires landowner cooperator permits to be used only on land contained within the access agreement; requires hunters to remove any bait 30 days prior to hunting in that area; moves the second cow elk gun season to the first Saturday in January to remove the overlap with Christmas; and opens Paul Van Booven and Fishtrap Lake WMAs to elk hunting. The goal of these amendments is to increase elk hunting opportunity, remove calendar conflicts and more fairly regulate the use of bait and landowner cooperator elk permits.
301 KAR 2:172. Deer hunting seasons, zones, and requirements.
This administrative regulation establishes the manner in which white-tailed deer may be harvested in Kentucky. Deer are a public resource entrusted to the state for management. Therefore, this regulation is necessary to control the method and manner in which deer may be taken. This amendment allows for an additional seven days of firearm deer hunting statewide which will change the October youth season from two to nine consecutive days. An additional seven days of firearm harvest will help slow increasing deer populations through increased take.
301 KAR 2:225. Dove, wood duck, teal, and other migratory game bird hunting.
This administrative regulation establishes seasons and bag limits within federal migratory bird hunting frameworks established in 50 C.F.R. Parts 20 and 21 according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In addition, it establishes requirements for the hunting of migratory birds. This amendment reduces the length of the September teal season from nine days to five days. Further, this amendment disallows the use of decoys by dove hunters on department-controlled lands during the month of September.
301 KAR 2:300. Black bear seasons and requirements.
This regulation establishes black bear chase and hunt seasons, chase and hunt requirements, bag limits, and legal methods of take and is necessary to provide reasonable hunting and chasing opportunity, while properly managing bear populations in Kentucky. This amendment establishes a 14-day hunting season in Clinton and Wayne Counties as well as adds the Siberian Laika to the list of approved dogs that may be used during bear chase and the hunt with dogs seasons. The 14-day season in Clinton and Wayne Counties is necessary to attempt to reduce the level of crop depredation in the area.
Title 301 Chapter 003 – Hunting and Fishing
301 KAR 3:005. Public use of newly acquired or newly managed lands.
This regulation establishes provisions for the department to place restrictions for hunting, fishing, trapping and access for newly acquired or managed lands or other lands for safety or wildlife management concerns. The amendments change the time allowed for temporary restrictions on newly acquired or managed lands, increasing the duration from one year to three years. It also establishes the closure of areas to hunting, fishing or trapping when said properties are incompatible for those activities or deemed unsafe. This amendment is necessary to expand the time available to promulgate permanent regulations, prepare properties for public use and perform wildlife or habitat management activities for newly acquired or managed lands. The amendment also was necessary to establish public safety protections for temporary or long-term safety concerns.
Effective April 2, 2025.
Title 301 Chapter 005 – Licensing
301 KAR 5:022. License, tag, and permit fees.
This administrative regulation establishes fees and terms for licenses, permits, and tags sold by the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. This amendment creates a noncommercial foxhound training enclosure permit to allow operation of foxhound enclosures of 40 to 200 acres. This amendment was necessary to create the new noncommercial foxhound training enclosure permit. These smaller enclosures were previously permitted under 301 KAR 2:081, however, they are being moved to 301 KAR 2:041 with other foxhound training enclosure regulations.
For updated information about proposed and recently enacted amendments to administrative regulations, visit fw.ky.gov.
Additional information about changes to administrative regulations is available through RegWatch, a free service that enables users to register to be notified of changes to existing administrative regulations or to receive notice of newly proposed regulations. Notifications are sent for four years after initial sign-up. More information about the service is available via the KAR FAQs online at legislature.ky.gov.
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