Furbearer Hunting Season Dates

Badger, beaver, bobcat, coyote, gray fox, red fox, mink, muskrat, nutria, opossum, raccoon, river otter, spotted skunk, striped skunk and weasel are regulated as furbearers.

 

Description	2008-2009 Season Dates	Limits
Gray Fox, Red Fox, Mink and Striped Skunk	Sunrise , September 1, 2009–Sunset, February 28, 2010 Day hunting only. Bag limit is two per day. No bag limit for striped skunk. Foxes may be taken during daylight hours with a method legal for that season and zone during the fox hunting season. Foxes may also be taken during daylight hours with firearms no larger than .30 caliber.	Limit 2 per day No limit on striped skunk
Opossum	Sunrise , September 1, 2009–Sunset, February 28, 2010 Day or night hunting; dogs are required to hunt at night.
Bobcat	Sunrise, October 1, 2009 – Sunset February 28, 2010 (Dogs allowed to hunt bobcat during the day. Dogs required to hunt bobcat at night.). From the first day of Spring Turkey season through the last day of Spring Squirrel Season (Day hunting only. No dogs allowed). Dogs are not allowed in deer zones where a firearms deer season is in progress that prohibits the use of dogs. During youth turkey hunts, only youths may take bobcats.	Limit 2 per day
Coyote	Sunrise, July 1, 2009 – Sunset February 28, 2010 (Dogs allowed to hunt coyote during the day. Coyote may not be hunted at night.) From the first day of Spring Turkey season through the last day of Spring Squirrel Season (Day hunting only. No dogs allowed). Dogs are not allowed in deer zones where a firearms deer season is in progress that prohibits the use of dogs. During youth turkey hunts, only youths may take coyotes.	No daily limit on coyotes.
River Otter Hunting	Sunrise, November 14, 2009 –Sunset, February 28, 2010.  Day hunting only
Raccoon Hunting	Sunset, July 1 – Sunrise, August 31, 2009 (Night hunting only. Dogs required) Sunrise, September 1, 2009 – Sunset, March 31, 2010 (Day or night hunting. Dogs are required for hunting at night)
Muskrat, Nutria and Beaver Hunting	Sunrise, September 1, 2009 – Sunset, March 31, 2010  Day hunting only.
Badger, Spotted Skunk (Civet Cat), and Weasel Hunting	Closed
Furbearer Trapping (Other than Beaver, Coyote, Muskrat, and Nutria)	Sunrise November 14, 2009 –Sunset, February 21, 2010
Coyote Trapping	Sunrise, August 1, 2009- Sunset, March 31, 2010
Beaver, Muskrat, and Nutria Trapping	Sunrise, November 14,2009 – Sunset, March 31, 2010

Furbearer Hunting Methods: Furbearers may be taken with archery equipment, firearms no larger than .22 caliber rimfire or shotguns with shot no larger than T shot.  Bobcat, Raccoon, and Opossum may be taken at night when treed by dogs during an open season for that species.

Exceptions: Bobcat and coyote may be taken during day light hours with archery equipment, firearms no larger than .30 caliber or shotguns with shot no larger than T shot. Bobcat and coyote may be taken during daylight hours of any open deer, bear, spring turkey or spring squirrel season with hunting equipment legal for that season.

Note: Wildlife Management Areas have specific seasons and restrictions for furbearers.  Refer to the specific WMA information in the Hunting Guidebook for seasons and restrictions for that WMA.

Information

During furbearer season, only snares, box traps, smooth-jawed steel leg-hold or Conibear-type traps may be used for trapping. Furbearers cannot be hunted with rifled slugs, shot larger than size T or any ammunition for rifle or handgun other than .22 caliber rimfire except during the daylight hours of modern gun deer seasons.

Checking Requirements

Nondrowning sets with foothold traps, snares and box traps must be checked daily. Kill traps set in water must be checked at least every 72 hours.

Foothold Traps

Foothold traps must be smooth jawed. Foothold traps on land must have a jaw spread no greater than 6 inches. Foothold traps with a jaw spread greater than 5 inches must have offset jaws. For water sets, traps may have a jaw spread up to 8½ inches. Traps are measured from the inside edge at the dog.

Conibear-type Traps

For land sets, the maximum jaw spread for Conibear-type traps is 6 inches. For water sets, the maximum jaw spread is 10 inches.

Box Traps

Box traps no larger than 8 inches wide and 10 inches high may be used for trapping rabbits. Individuals may use no more than eight rabbit traps. Wood or wire traps may not be used to take game birds. Licensed fur takers may use box traps of any size during furbearer season.

Snares

Leg snares are prohibited. Snares are allowed in water sets. Snares are allowed on land, but land snares set farther than 20 feet from a permanent body of water must have a functional “deer lock” that prevents them closing smaller than 2½ inches. Land snares must have a single-piece lock and must be braided cable with a loop no larger than 12 inches in diameter (from side-to-side) and the bottom of the loop no higher than 10 inches from the ground. No snare may be set or maintained in a public road right-of-way or touch any fence when fully extended.

Bait

Animal matter may not be used as bait within 20 feet of a trap set unless it is covered. Bait must be covered in such a way as to withstand wave action, wind action or other normal environmental conditions that could cause it to become visible.

Identification

Traps, including snares, must have the trapper’s name and address, his vehicle operator’s license number or his vehicle license number.

Pelts: Untanned pelts must belong to species of furbearers that have an open season in Arkansas. Shipments of untanned green pelts originating in Arkansas must display the name, address and license number of shipper, date of shipment and the words “Fur Pelts.”

Bobcat and river otter pelts must be tagged by an AGFC employee before being shipped out of state. Possession of untagged river otter pelts from April 1 to the beginning of the river otter hunting season is not allowed except for those taken with a depredation permit.

Fur dealers

Anyone purchasing furbearer pelts or carcasses is required to have a fur dealer permit and to fill out the AGFC Fur Dealer Report daily. This report must be made available for inspection by AGFC employees and be submitted to the AGFC by May 5.

 

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