Ohio Administrative Code › Title 1501:31 - Division of Wildlife › Chapter 1501:31-15 - Hunting and Trapping › Section 1501:31-15-09 - Hunting and trapping regulations for furbearing animals

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 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.