Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Throughout the
state, it shall be unlawful for a person to hunt, trap, take, or possess
furbearing animals except according to this rule and other rules in the
Administrative Code or the Revised Code.
(B) There is no bag limit or possession limit
on fox, skunk, weasel, raccoon, opossum, mink, coyotes, beaver or
muskrat.
(C) It shall be unlawful
for any person to pursue, hunt, or trap furbearing animals from sunset to
sunrise, without carrying a continuous white light visible for a distance of at
least one-quarter of a mile. However, persons hunting fox, raccoon or coyote
with a call from a stationary position may use a continuous single beam light
of any color. When two or more persons are hunting or trapping together for
such animals, one light only is required and may be carried by any member of
the party.
(D) It shall be unlawful
for any person to train dogs pursuing furbearing animals during the closed
season except from six p.m. to six a.m. daily.
(E) It shall be unlawful for any person to
use or possess climbers, or any other device that may be used for climbing
trees except tree stands, while hunting, trapping or pursuing furbearing
animals.
(F) It shall be unlawful
for any person to fail to immediately kill and reduce to the person's
possession or immediately release at the capture site any trapped furbearing
animal.
(G) It shall be unlawful
for any person engaged in trapping to fail to visit and remove all animals from
their traps once every calendar day.
(H) It shall be unlawful for any person to
set, use, or maintain a trap or snare for the purpose of taking a wild animal,
unless such trap or snare has attached thereto a durable waterproof tag bearing
the name and mailing address or unique division of wildlife customer
identification number of the user in English letters legible at all times, or
which has the name and mailing address or unique division of wildlife customer
identification number of the user stamped into such trap in English letters
legible at all times.
(I) It shall
be unlawful for any person to disturb or molest a legally set trap, dispatch or
remove a furbearing animal from a trap of another person without permission
from the trap owner or user.
(J) It
shall be unlawful for any person to erect, post, or place any stake, flagging
or any other type of marker for the purpose of identifying a proposed trap set
location on any area designated as public hunting area unless authorized by the
chief of the division of wildlife.
(K) Trapping methods:
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to
place, set, or maintain any type of trap other than a cage trap, body gripping
trap, foot encapsulating trap, foothold trap, or snare for the purpose of
taking a wild animal.
(2) It shall
be unlawful for any person to use a trap, for the purpose of taking a wild
animal, having teeth on the gripping surface.
(3) It shall be unlawful to use any flesh
bait for the purpose of trapping a wild animal that is not totally
covered.
(4) It shall be unlawful
for any person to set, use, or maintain, a trap or snare in or upon any path,
or road ordinarily used by domestic animals or human beings.
(5)
Except as
provided in rule
1501:31-15-03
of the Administrative Code,
it shall be unlawful for any person at any time to
shoot a mink, muskrat, river otter or beaver that is not caught in a trap or
snare.
(6) It shall be unlawful for
any person to set, use, or maintain any type of a trap on land, except a cage
trap, for the purpose of taking a wild animal within one hundred fifty feet of
an occupied residence without advising a person residing therein. Persons
trapping on land that they own or where they reside are exempt from the
provisions in this paragraph.
(7)
Foothold traps:
(a) It shall be unlawful for
any person to set, use, or maintain a foothold trap, on land, for the purpose
of taking a wild animal, that has an inside diameter jaw spread greater than
five and three eights inches, except foothold traps with a jaw spread not
larger than six inches may be utilized when they meet the following:
(i) The jaws have a minimum of
five-sixteenths inch gripping surface.
(ii) Each trap has a minimum of three
swiveling points.
(b) It
shall be unlawful for any person to set, use, or maintain a foothold trap,
submerged in the water, for the purpose of taking a wild animal, that has an
inside diameter jaw spread greater than eight and one-quarter inches.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to
set, use, or maintain any foothold trap on land or in water, for the purpose of
taking a wild animal, that is not covered.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to
set, use, or maintain a foot encapsulating trap that has an opening that is
greater than two inches in diameter or two inches along any one side.
(e) It shall be unlawful to set a foothold or
foot encapsulating trap on land that has less than two swiveling
points.
(8) Body
gripping traps:
(a) It shall be unlawful for
any person to set, use, or maintain a body gripping trap for the purpose of
taking a wild animal with a jaw measurement greater than five inches on
land.
(b) It shall be unlawful for
any person to set, use, or maintain a body gripping trap for the purpose of
taking a wild animal, with a jaw measurement of greater than five inches or
less than or equal to seven inches unless partially or completely submerged in
a natural body of water, except as provided in paragraph (N) of this
rule.
(c) It shall be unlawful for
any person to set, use, or maintain a body gripping trap for the purpose of
taking a wild animal with a jaw measurement of greater than seven inches unless
completely submerged in water and only during the open trapping season for
beaver or river otter.
(9) Snares:
(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to set,
use, and maintain a snare for the purpose of taking furbearing animals that
does not have a relaxing lock and a stop to prevent the opening of the snare
from closing to a diameter of less than two and one half inches in diameter, or
a relaxing lock system with a breaking point of not greater than three hundred
fifty pounds.
(b) It shall be
unlawful to use a snare that is not securely attached or affixed to an
immovable object or securely staked.
(c) It shall be unlawful to set, use, or
maintain any snare on any area designated as a public hunting area except on
those areas listed in paragraph (L)(1) of this rule and then only when beaver
or river otter trapping. A snare shall have a minimum loop diameter of at least
ten inches and the bottom of the snare must be covered with not less than one
inch of water at all times while set on those areas listed in paragraph (L)(1)
of this rule.
(d) It shall be
unlawful to use any snare that is constructed of any material other than multi
strand steel cable.
(e) It shall be
unlawful to set a snare with a loop diameter of greater than fifteen
inches.
(f) It shall be unlawful to
have attached to a snare any spring loaded or mechanical device to assist the
snare in closing.
(L) Special area regulations:
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to
engage in trapping for beaver or river otter on any state public hunting area
area unless such person has a special beaver or river otter trapping permit for
that specific public hunting area issued by the chief of the division of
wildlife or their representative.
(2) It shall be unlawful to trap beaver or
river otter on American electric power lands without written permission from
the company or its authorized representative.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person to
remove, disturb, or destroy a beaver dam located on any division owned,
administered or controlled area without permission from the chief of the
division of wildlife or on any private land without permission of the
landowner.
(M) River
otter regulations:
(1) Every river otter pelt
taken or possessed during the river otter trapping season must be delivered to
a division of wildlife representative, during normal business hours, for
mandatory checking and tagging within five business days following
harvest.
(2) It shall be unlawful
for any person other than the person who trapped a river otter to present the
river otter to a division of wildlife representative for mandatory checking and
tagging.
(3) Each person delivering
a river otter for mandatory checking and tagging must report the date, time,
location and any other information requested by the division of wildlife.
(N)
For the purposes of this rule, traps shall be measured in the open set
position, from the inside of the main trap jaws including jaw modifications or
add-ons.
(1) Measurement of foot hold traps
shall be made perpendicular to the frame at the widest location parallel with
the dog.
(2) Measurement of foot
hold traps without dogs shall be made perpendicular to the frame at the widest
location parallel with the pan shank.
(3) Body gripping traps shall be measured
from the inside of the main jaw at the trigger assembly to the inside of the
opposing jaw across the entrance window.
(4) Measurement of foot-encapsulating traps
with round or oblong openings shall be made across the opening at the widest
location. Measurement of foot-encapsulating traps with square or rectangular
openings shall be made along the longest side of the opening.
(O) It shall be lawful for persons to take coyotes
without a fur taker permit.
(P) All definitions
set forth in rule
1501:31-1-02
of the Administrative Code shall apply to this rule.
Effective: 1/1/2015
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
08/18/2014 and
01/01/2020
Promulgated
Under: 119.03
Statutory
Authority: 1531.06,
1531.08,
1531.10
Rule
Amplifies: 1531.06,
1531.08,
1531.10
Prior
Effective Dates: 8/25/75, 2/5/77, 6/1/77, 6/1/78, 6/1/79, 6/1/80, 6/1/81,
6/1/82, 6/1/84, 6/1/85, 6/1/87, 9/15/87, 7/31/92, 6/30/94, 8/15/95, 8/10/96,
3/1/00, 7/22/01, 4/21/02, 6/4/03, 5/28/04, 5/27/05, 6/01/06, 7/1/08, 7/1/09,
7/1/10, 7/1/11, 1/1/12, 11/24/13.
7/1/14
