Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A. An Arizona
trapping license permits a person to trap predatory and fur-bearing
animals.
B. A trapping license is
required for any person 10 years of age and older. A person under the age of 10
is not required to purchase a trapping license, but shall apply for and obtain
a registration number. The trapper registration number is not
transferable.
C. A person born on
or after January 1, 1967 shall successfully complete a Department-approved
trapping education course before applying for a trapping license.
D. A person applying for a trapping
registration number or trapping license shall pay the applicable fees
established under
R12-4-102.
E. A person applying for a trapping
registration number or trapping license shall apply using a form furnished by
the Department. The form is available at any Department office and online at
www.azgfd.gov. The person shall
provide all of the following information on the form:
1. The
applicant's personal information:
a.
Name;
b. Date of birth;
c. Physical description, to include the
applicant's eye color, hair color, height, and weight;
d. Department identification
number;
e. Residency status and
number of years of residency immediately preceding application, when
applicable;
f. Mailing address,
when applicable;
g. Physical
address;
h. Telephone number, when
available; and
i. E-mail address,
when available;
2. Category of license:
a. Resident,
b. Nonresident, or
c. Youth, and
3. The
applicant's signature and date.
F. A trapper may only trap predatory and
fur-bearing animals during trapping seasons established by Commission
Order.
G. A trapper shall:
1. Inspect traps daily;
2. Kill or release all predatory and
fur-bearing animals;
3. Possess a
choke restraint device that enables the trapper to release a javelina from a
trap when trapping in a javelina hunt unit as designated by Commission
Order;
4. Possess a device that is
designed or manufactured to restrain a trapped animal while it is being removed
from a trap when its release is required under this Section; and
5. Release, without additional injury, all
animals that cannot lawfully be taken by trap.
6. Subsections (G)(3) and (G)(4) do not apply
when the trapper is using a confinement trap.
H. A trapper shall not:
1. Bait a confinement trap with:
a. A live animal;
b. Any edible parts of small game, big game,
or game fish; or
c. Any part of any
game bird or nongame bird.
2. Set any trap within:
a. One-half mile (880 yards) of any of the
following areas developed for public use:
i.
Boat ramp or launching area,
ii.
Camping area,
iii. Picnic area,
iv. Roadside rest area,
or
v. Developed wildlife viewing
platform.
b. One-half
mile of any occupied farmhouse or other residence, cabin, lodge or building
without permission of the owner or resident.
c. One-hundred yards of an interstate highway
or any other highway maintained by the Arizona Department of
Transportation.
d. Fifty feet of
any trail maintained for public use by a government agency.
e. Seventy-five feet of any other road as
defined under A.R.S. §
17-101.
f. Subsections (H)(2)(b), (H)(2)(c),
(H)(2)(d), and (H)(2)(e) do not apply when the trapper is using a confinement
trap.
3. Set a foothold
trap within 30 feet of sight-exposed bait.
4. Use any:
a. Body-gripping or other instant kill trap
with an open jaw spread that exceeds 5 inches for any land set or 10 inches for
any water set;
b. Foothold trap
with an open jaw spread that exceeds 7 1/2 inches for any water set;
c. Snare, unless authorized under subsection
(I);
d. Trap with an open jaw
spread that exceeds 6 1/2 inches for any land set; or
e. Trap with teeth.
I. A trapper who uses a foothold
trap to take wildlife with a land set shall use commercially manufactured traps
that meet the following specifications:
1. A
padded or rubber-jawed trap or an unpadded trap with jaws permanently offset to
a minimum of 3/16 inch and a device that allows for pan tension
adjustment;
2. A foothold trap that
captures wildlife by means of an enclosed bar or spring designed to prevent the
capture of non-targeted wildlife or domestic animals; or
3. A powered cable device with an inside
frame hinge width no wider than 6 inches, a cable loop stop size of at least 2
inches in diameter to prevent capture of small non-target species, and a device
that allows for a pan tension adjustment.
J. A trapper who uses a foothold trap to take
wildlife with a land set shall ensure that the trap has an anchor chain
equipped with at least two swivels as follows:
1. An anchor chain 12 inches or less in
length shall have a swivel attached at each end.
2. An anchor chain greater than 12 inches in
length shall have one swivel attached at the trap and one swivel attached
within 12 inches of the trap. The anchor chain shall be equipped with a
shock-absorbing spring that requires less than 40 pounds of force to extend or
open the spring.
K. A
trapper shall ensure that each trap has either the name and address or the
registration number of the trapper marked on a metal tag attached to the trap.
The registration number assigned by the Department is the only acceptable
registration number.
L. A trapper
shall immediately attach a valid bobcat transportation tag to the pelt or
unskinned carcass of a bobcat taken in this state. The trapper shall validate
the transportation tag by providing all of the following information on the
bobcat transportation tag:
1. Current trapping
license number,
2. Management unit
where the bobcat was taken,
3. Sex
of the bobcat, and
4. Method by
which the bobcat was taken.
M. The Department shall provide
transportation tags with each trapping license. Additional transportation tags
are available at any Department office at no charge.
N. A trapper shall ensure that all bobcats
taken in this state have a bobcat seal attached and locked either through the
mouth and an eye opening or through both eye openings no later than April 1 of
each year.
1. When available, bobcat seals are
issued on a first-come, first-served basis at Department offices and other
locations at those times and places as determined and published by the
Department.
2. The trapper shall
pay the bobcat seal fee established under
R12-4-102.
3. Department personnel or an authorized
agent shall attach and lock a bobcat seal only to a pelt or unskinned carcass
presented with a validated transportation tag and a complete lower jaw
identified with labels provided with the transportation tag. Department
personnel or authorized agents shall collect the transportation tags and jaws
before attaching the bobcat seal.
O. Department personnel shall attach a bobcat
seal to a bobcat pelt seized under A.R.S. §
17-211(E)(4)
before disposal by the Department to the
public.
P. A licensed trapper shall
file the annual report prescribed under A.R.S. §
17-361(D).
The report form is available at any Department office and online at
www.azgfd.gov.
1. The trapper shall submit the report to
Arizona Game and Fish Department, Terrestrial Wildlife Branch, 5000 W. Carefree
Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086 by April 1 of each year.
2. A report is required even when trapping
activities were not conducted.
3.
The Department shall deny a trapping license to any trapper who fails to submit
an annual report until the trapper complies with reporting
requirements.
Q. Persons
suffering property loss or damage due to wildlife and who take responsive
measures as permitted under A.R.S. §§
17-239
and
17-302
are exempt from this Section. This exemption does not authorize any form of
trapping prohibited under A.R.S. §
17-301.
