An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
As defined by 301 KAR 2:251, a "'Furbearer' means mink, muskrat, beaver, raccoon, opossum, gray fox, red fox, least weasel, long-tailed weasel, river otter, bobcat, coyote, or striped skunk." Read below for specific hunting regulations about this hunting and trapping program in Kentucky.
(see Special Hunting Restrictions section for exceptions)
Resident and nonresident youth hunters and trappers ages 15 and younger may hunt and trap applicable game and furbearers, and hunt migratory birds in season without a hunting or trapping license for seven consecutive days starting the Saturday after Christmas.
Please refer to the hunter orange clothing law section for guidelines.
Youth hunters must comply with all equipment regulations and bag limits for furbearers when hunting or trapping. Hunter education is not required for license-exempt hunters. Adults accompanying youth hunters/trappers during the free youth hunting and trapping week do not need a license if they are not hunting/trapping.
The eastern spotted skunk, a rare species found in eastern Kentucky, is a protected species and may not be taken. All federally threatened or endangered species are protected under state and federal laws and may not be taken. For more information about the agency's efforts to improve statewide biodiversity and protect threatened or endangered species, please review the Kentucky State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP).
Get in the Season
Check out theSeason's Dates Calendar
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is collecting muskrat carcasses to examine muskrat population health and abundance. Check below for more information about our Muskrat Study.
Kentucky Fish & Wildlife is collecting lower jaws from hunted and trapped bobcats and river otters for a population study. Please contact the department at 1-800-858-1549 to request a sample packet and instructions. Thank you for your contribution to furbearer management.
Coyote Hunting Kentucky's Night Season
Hunting Raccoons with Hounds
(Daylight hours are defined as 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.)
Cedar Creek Lake and Miller-Welch Central Kentucky WMAs prohibit hunting for coyotes and other furbearers.
Raccoon and Opossum
Bobcat
Bobcat hunters must carry a valid hunting license (unless license-exempt) and a valid bobcat hunting permit while hunting. Bobcat permits are free. Permits can be registered via our License Sales portal.
Submit jaws of all harvested (Hunting/Trapping) bobcats for population studies.
Coyote
Coyotes may be hunted year-round on public and private land, day or night, with no bag limit. However, some exceptions do apply. Please review regulation 301 KAR 2: 251 for more information.
Coyote hunting rules that apply all year, Day or Night, and on both Public and Private Lands
Hunting Coyotes with Bait:
It is legal to hunt coyotes over animal carcasses. However, animal carcasses are considered bait. A hunter shall not place or distribute bait or otherwise participate in baiting wildlife in the following locations:
Coyote Night Hunting Restrictions
Night hunting for coyotes is prohibited on the following Kentucky areas:
For All Other Furbearers
Trappers may use lights from boats or vehicles to check traps.
Traps may not be set in trails or paths commonly used by people or domestic animals.
There are no restrictions on the size or type of trap used as water set, except that any body-gripping trap greater than 20 inches wide must be set so the trap is completely submerged underwater. A water set is a trap set in the water of a river, stream, pond, lake, wetland or other body of water so that a portion of the trap body is underwater.
The following equipment is permitted for dry land sets. A dry land set is a trap set so that no portion of the trap touches the water of a river, stream, pond, lake, wetland or other water course.
Foothold traps with a maximum inside jaw spread of 6 inches measured perpendicular to the hinges.
A snare is defined as a wire, cable, or string with a knot, loop, or single-piece closing device, the deployment of which is or is not spring-assisted, but any spring-assisted device is not for the purpose of applying tension to the closing device.
Deadfall trap.
Wire cage or box trap
On private land, a body-gripping trap with a maximum inside jaw spread of 7½ inches measured parallel with the trigger
On wildlife management and outdoor recreation areas, a body-gripping trap with a maximum inside jaw spread of 5¼ inches
Dry land sets may not be placed closer than 10 feet apart in wildlife management and outdoor recreation areas.
On private land, dry land sets may not be placed closer than 10 feet apart unless the person trapping has written permission from the landowner or the landowner’s designee, except there shall not be more than three traps set within any 10-foot spacing. The trap spacing requirement does not apply to wire cages, box traps, or properties of 5 acres or less.
Harvested bobcats and otters must be telechecked by calling 1-800-245-4263 by midnight on the day the animal is recovered before processing the carcass and before transporting the raw fur, pelt, or unskinned carcass out of Kentucky. A hunter or trapper who wants to have a bobcat or otter mounted shall provide his or her name, telephone number and telecheck confirmation number to the taxidermist. Taxidermists cannot legally accept an unchecked otter or bobcat for mounting.
A Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) tag, issued by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, must be attached to the raw fur of any bobcat or river otter taken in Kentucky if the hunter or trapper intends to sell or export internationally.
Access via My Profile to complete and submit a CITES tag request form online. Those without internet access may call the department at 1-800-858-1549 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern time) and provide the animal’s telecheck confirmation number.
A CITES tag must be attached to the raw fur, pelt or unskinned carcass of any bobcat or river otter taken in Kentucky upon receipt of the tag from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife per the instructions provided by the department and remain attached until it is processed or exported outside the United States.
Possession of an unused bobcat or otter CITES tag is prohibited.
A person who transfers but does not sell a river otter or bobcat to another person or taxidermist is not required to request a CITES tag. But, this person must attach a handmade carcass tag to the animal that contains the telecheck confirmation number and the hunter or trapper’s name and phone number.
There is no time restriction on the holding of raw furs of furbearers by a trapper or hunter after the close of furbearer season. Raw furs may be sold only to licensed taxidermists, fur buyers or processors. Under KRS 150. 415, licensed fur buyers are required to issue a receipt to a trapper or hunter from whom they purchased such furs. Buyers are also required to submit an Fur Buyer Report to the department detailing the total value of each type of fur purchased. Please download the Fur Buyer Report and submit it no later than March 15 of the present licensed year. Failure to comply shall bar a license holder from obtaining a license the following year.
Do you trap muskrats? The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is collecting muskrat carcasses to examine pathogens and toxicants that may affect muskrat health and population abundance. If you are interested in participating in this study, please see details below for collecting carcasses.