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Trapping Seasons End Soon for Mink, Raccoon, Fox, Muskrat - Git-R-Done

West Virginia DNR

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – -(Ammoland.com)- West Virginia trappers are reminded that the various trapping seasons for affected species will be ending soon, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

• Trapping season for fisher ends on January 31, 2012.
• The hunting and trapping seasons for red and gray fox, bobcat and raccoon will end on February 29, 2012.
• The trapping seasons for coyote, otter, mink and muskrat will also end on February 29, 2012.
• Trapping season for beaver will be in until March 31, 2012. Beaver trappers are reminded that it is illegal to set traps other than water sets during March.

All beaver, bobcat, otter and fisher pelts are required to be checked at an official game checking station within 30 days of the close of their respective season. Hunters and trappers are required to field tag bobcats before removing the carcass from where it was harvested.

Trappers, hunters and fur dealers are reminded that furs shipped out of West Virginia must have a fur shipping tag, which is available at WVDNR district offices and most game checking stations. Also, anyone who plans to sell an otter or bobcat pelt outside of the state of West Virginia should obtain a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) seal for each pelt.

All otter and bobcat pelts, usually exported from the United States by licensed fur buyers, must have a CITES seal from the state where the animal was harvested.

The general public is reminded that now, before the trapping season ends, would be a good time to deal with nuisance muskrat or beaver problems. Trappers may be more likely to assist landowners with nuisance problems while their gear is in working order and pelts are prime.

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WVDNR Director Frank Jezioro buys the first Senior Lifetime Hunting and Fishing License from Felicia Boykins of the DNR Licensing Office during a news conference announcing the sale of the new license.

West Virginia DNR

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – -(Ammoland.com)- The new Senior Lifetime Hunting, Trapping and Fishing License, which becomes effective January 1, 2012, is now available for purchase, according to DNR Director Frank Jezioro.

The one-time fee for the Class XS License is $25.

“Hunters and anglers can buy the license in person at the DNR South Charleston headquarters or they can obtain a form at any license agent or DNR district office and send it in to our headquarters,” said Jezioro.

“I want to emphasize that the license will not be required for our hunters and anglers who turn 65 before January 1, 2012 or those who already have a lifetime license. In addition, it will not change the existing privileges of our senior landowners.”

Purchase of the Senior Lifetime License will allow seniors to hunt for small game, turkey and bear, and for deer during the archery, youth, buck-gun and muzzleloader seasons. License holders will also be able to fish for both trout and warmwater fish, as well as trap furbearing animals. Seniors, other than landowners hunting on their own land, will still have to buy the required stamps to hunt during the antlerless deer seasons or to harvest additional deer.

“In approving the legislation, the legislature added the opportunity for Class XS license holders to hunt during the annual Special Split Youth and Class Q seasons,” Jezioro said. “Seniors who turn 65 before January 1, 2012, who wish to hunt during those seasons starting in 2012, would be able to buy the Senior Lifetime License.”

Jezioro emphasizes that the Class XS License can be bought no sooner than 90 days before an individual’s 65th birthday and that the license is not valid until their actual birth date.

West Virginia SR Hunting License

The West Virginia Legislature established the new lifetime license to permit the DNR to capture tax money which West Virginia seniors were already spending on hunting and fishing equipment. Jezioro explained, “Hunters pay a tax on hunting and fishing equipment which is given back to the states based partially on the number of licensed hunters and anglers. In the past, when our seniors became 65 and no longer had to buy a license, we could no longer count them as a license buyer. As a result, that reduced our apportionment of the taxes that they were spending on new equipment and ammunition.

“We estimate that the license fee itself will bring in approximately $150,000 in 2012 and should increase in future years. In addition, we believe we will capture about $31,500 of funds from the federal government that our hunters and anglers already spend on sporting equipment and ammunition, an amount that will also increase in the future.”

By law, the money the DNR receives must be spent only for fish and wildlife management efforts. Jezioro said, “We plan to spend the additional money for additional access for the mobility-impaired hunter, improvements to and operation of the state’s fish stocking program, and construction of additional shooting ranges. These programs will benefit our senior sportsmen.”

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