IDAPA 13.01.16
Wildlife Bureau
Who does these rules apply to?
These rules apply to individuals who hunt or trap furbearing animals and who trap predatory or unprotected wildlife.
What is the purpose of these rules?
These rules govern the taking of furbearing animals and trapping of predatory and unprotected wildlife. These rules also govern trap set types, trap identification, controlled trapping permits, requirements for checking traps, requirements for managing trapped animals, release of non-target catch, reporting requirements and trapping location restrictions. These rules regulate the take of wildlife so that Idaho continues to have wildlife populations to support public use and enjoyment in the future. These rules also promote public safety and manage social aspects to provide a range of opportunities and balance different public interests and preferences.
What is the legal authority for the agency to promulgate this rule?
This rule implements the following statutes passed by the Idaho Legislature:
Fish and Game -
Fish and Game Commission:
Protection of Animals and Birds:
Who do I contact for more information on this rule?
Idaho Department of Fish and Game 600 S. Walnut Street Boise, ID 83712
P.O. Box 25 Boise, ID 83707 Phone: (208) 334-3771 Fax: (208) 334-4885 Email: Rules@idfg.idaho.gov Webpage: http://idfg.idaho.gov
This rule chapter will be reviewed in compliance with Section 67-5292, Idaho Code, and in accordance with the 8-year rule review schedule linked here.
13.01.16 – Trapping of Wildlife and Taking of Furbearing Animals
| 000. Legal Authority. | 3 |
|---|---|
| 001. Scope. | 3 |
| 002. -- 009. (Reserved) | 3 |
| 010. Definitions. | 3 |
| 011. -- 099. (Reserved) | 3 |
| 100. Identification Tags for Traps. | 3 |
| 101. -- 149. (Reserved) | 3 |
| 150. Controlled Trapping Permits. | 3 |
| 151. -- 199. (Reserved) | 4 |
| 200. Traps. | 4 |
| 201. -- 399. (Reserved) | 5 |
| 400. Furbearing Animals – Methods Of Take. | 5 |
| 401. -- 449. (Reserved) | 5 |
| 450. Limits On Trapping. | 5 |
| 451. -- 454. (Reserved) | 6 |
| 455. Gray Wolf Trapping. | 6 |
| 456. -- 499. (Reserved) | 6 |
| 500. Mandatory Check And Report – Pelt Tags. | 6 |
| 501. -- 599. (Reserved) | 7 |
| 600. Trapping On Game Preserves and Department-owned Or Controlled Lands. | 7 |
| 601. -- 699. (Reserved) | 7 |
| 700. Common Season Boundaries for Streams and Rivers. | 7 |
| 701. -- 799. (Reserved) | 7 |
| 800. Trapping Reports. | 7 |
| 801. -- 999. (Reserved) | 7 |
Sections 36-104(b) and 36-1101(a), Idaho Code. (7-1-26)
These rules govern the trapping of wildlife and taking of furbearing animals. (7-1-26)
IDAPA 13.01.06 defines game animals, furbearing animals, and unprotected wildlife. Section 36-201, Idaho Code, defines predatory wildlife. (7-1-26)
01. Bait. Any animal parts; except bleached bones or natural liquid scent. (7-1-26)
02. Sets. (3-31-22)
a. Ground Set. Any foothold trap, body-gripping trap, or snare originally set in or on the land (soil, rock, etc.), which includes any traps elevated up to a maximum of thirty-six (36) inches above the natural ground level. (3-31-22)
b. Water Set. Any trap or snare originally set in or on any body of water, which includes traps on floats in the water and those that are set with a minimum of one-third (1/3) of the trap submerged. Water sets includes traps set on beaver dams, in bank holes and in the water at bank slides. (7-1-26)
c. Other Sets. Any set not defined as a ground or water set, including without limitation, elevated sets originally set thirty-six (36) inches or more above natural ground level. (3-31-22)
03. Public Trail. Any trail designated by any city, county, state, or federal transportation or land management agency on the most current official map of the agency. (3-31-22)
All traps or snares, except those used for pocket gophers, ground squirrels or other unprotected rodents, shall have attached to the snare or the chain of every trap, a metal tag bearing: (3-31-22)
01. Name and Address. In legible English the name and current address of the trapper; or (3-31-22)
02. Number. A six (6) digit number, to be obtained by the trapper from any Department office upon the issuance of the trapper's first trapping license. (7-1-26)
01. General. No person may trap in a controlled trapping unit for the designated species without having a valid permit for that controlled trapping unit in possession. A permit issued based on erroneous information will be invalidated by the Department. The Department will notify the individual of the invalidation, and that person will not be eligible for a controlled trapping permit that year or in a succeeding year to which a waiting period applies. (3-31-22)
02. Eligibility. Any person possessing a valid Idaho trapping license is eligible to apply for a controlled trapping unit permit. (3-31-22)
03. Applications. Applications for controlled trapping permits will be made on a form prescribed by the Department. The Department will only consider applications received at its Headquarters Office or postmarked no later than September 15 of each year. Any application that is unreadable, has incomplete or incorrect trapping license numbers, or lacks mandatory information or fee will be declared void and will not be entered in the drawing. All applications will be considered final and cannot be resubmitted after correction. (7-1-26)
a. No person may submit more than one (1) application per species for a controlled trapping permit.
(3-31-22)
b. No group applications will be accepted. (3-31-22)
04. Controlled Trapping Permit Drawing. (3-31-22)
a. Applications not drawn for the first-choice unit will automatically be entered into a second-choice drawing, provided the second choice applied for has not been filled. (7-1-26)
b. If an insufficient number of “first choice” applications are received for a unit, remaining permits will be filled from applications listing the unit as a second choice. (3-31-22)
c. Any permits left unfilled after the second-choice drawing may be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. (7-1-26)
05. Successful Applicants. Successful applicants will be notified by mail and must contact the person listed on the notice by October 14 to obtain the permit. The permittee, upon agreeing to follow trapping instructions for the unit, will be issued a permit. (3-31-22)
06. Revocation of Permits. The Department may revoke the permit of any permittee who does not comply with Title 36, Idaho Code, administrative rules, or trapping unit instructions. (7-1-26)
07. Alternative Permittee. Any revoked permit may be issued to an alternate, selected at the time of the drawing. If there is no alternate, or the alternate fails to comply with Subsection 150.05 above, the permit may be issued to the first eligible trapper answering a notification of vacant trapping unit as approved by the Regional Supervisor. (7-1-26)
151. -- 199. (RESERVED)
200. TRAPS.
01. Checking Traps. (3-31-22)
a. No person may place snares or traps for gray wolf, furbearing animals, predatory or unprotected wildlife, except pocket gophers, ground squirrels and other unprotected rodents, without visiting every trap or snare once every seventy-two (72) hours and removing any catch therein. (3-31-22)
b. Trappers acting as government employees or contractors are exempt from this rule. (3-31-22)
02. Removing Trapped Animals of Another. No person may remove wildlife from the trap or snare of another except licensed trappers with written permission from the owner. (3-31-22)
03. Release of Non-Target Catches. (3-31-22)
a. All non-target species caught alive shall be released immediately. Non-target species are defined as any species caught for which the season is closed or is in excess of the trapper’s limit. (3-31-22)
b. Any trapper who catches a non-target species that is dead shall: (3-31-22)
i. Promptly record the date and species of animal caught and include this information in the mandatory furtaker harvest report. (3-31-22)
ii. Remove the animal from the trap and take it into possession. (3-31-22)
iii. Notify the Department through the local Conservation Officer or Department office within seventy-two (72) hours to make arrangements with the Department for disposition of the animal. (7-1-26)
c. The Department will reimburse trappers twenty-five dollars ($25) for each bobcat, otter, or fisher caught accidentally and turned in. (7-1-26)
201. -- 399. (RESERVED)
No person may take beaver, muskrat, mink, marten, or otter by any method other than trapping. No person may use dogs for the taking of furbearing animals, except in accordance with IDAPA 13.01.15. (7-1-26)
401. -- 449. (RESERVED)
01. Game Animals. No person may trap for game birds or game animals, except gray wolf. (3-31-22)
02. Bait. No person trapping for gray wolf, furbearing animals, or predatory or unprotected wildlife may use for bait or scent: (3-31-22)
a. Any part of a game bird, big game animal, upland game animal, game fish, or protected nongame wildlife; EXCEPT: (3-31-22)
i. Trappers may use portions of game birds, game animals, and game fish that are not edible portions, as defined by Section 36-1202, Idaho Code, and may use parts of accidentally killed wildlife salvaged in accordance with IDAPA 13.01.10, Paragraphs 300.02.c. and 300.02.d., unless such use is prohibited in areas identified by Commission Proclamation, adopted and published in accordance with Section 36-105(3), Idaho Code. (7-1-26)
ii. Trappers may place sets near a big game animal that has died naturally and the carcass has not been repositioned for trapping purposes. Natural causes do not include any man-caused mortality. (3-31-22)
b. Live animals. (3-31-22)
03. Limits on Sets. No person trapping for gray wolf, furbearing animals, or predatory or unprotected wildlife may: (3-31-22)
a. Use any set within thirty (30) feet of any visible bait. (3-31-22)
b. Use a dirt hole ground set with bait unless the person ensures that the bait remains covered at all times to protect raptors and other meat-eating birds from being caught accidentally. (3-31-22)
c. Place any ground sets on, across, or within ten (10) feet of the edge of any maintained unpaved public trail. (3-31-22)
d. Place any ground set on, across, or within any public highway as defined in Section 36-202, Idaho Code. (7-1-26)
i. Except ground sets may be placed on snow-covered routes where authorized at the discretion of the director or regional supervisor; or (7-1-26)
ii. Except ground sets may be placed underneath bridges and within and at culverts that are part of a public highway right-of-way, where they are not part of a wildlife crossing structure (overpass or underpass, and any related fencing, constructed to pass wildlife across the public highway). (7-1-26)
e. Place any ground set incorporating snare, trap, or attached materials within three hundred (300) feet of any designated public campground, trailhead, paved trail, or picnic area; except cage or box live traps may be placed within these areas as allowed by city, county, state, and federal law. (3-31-22)
f. Place or set any ground set snare without a break-away device or cable stop incorporated within the
loop of the snare. (3-31-22)
g. Place any ground set incorporating a foothold trap with an inside jaw spread greater than nine (9) inches. (3-31-22)
h. Place or operate, except as a waterset, any body-gripping trap that has a maximum jaw opening, when set, of greater than seven and one-half (7 1/2) inches measured from the inside edges of the body-gripping portions of the jaws, within thirty (30) feet of any bait, lure, or other attractant. (3-31-22)
i. Place or operate, except as a waterset, any body-gripping trap that has a maximum jaw opening, when set, greater than six and one half (6 1/2) inches and less than seven and one-half (7 1/2) inches measured from the inside edges of the body-gripping portions of the jaws, unless one (1) of the following is met: (7-1-26)
i. The trap is in an enclosure and the trap trigger is recessed seven (7) inches or more from the top and front most portion of the open end of the enclosure; (3-31-22)
ii. No bait, lure, or other attractant is placed within thirty (30) feet of the trap; or (3-31-22)
iii. The trap is elevated at least three (3) feet above the surface of the ground or snowpack. (3-31-22)
01. Limits on Sets. No person trapping for gray wolf may: (3-31-22)
a. Use any set, EXCEPT a ground set. (3-31-22)
b. Trap for any gray wolf within one-half (1/2) mile of any active Department big game feeding site, except on private property. (7-1-26)
c. Trap for gray wolf within two hundred (200) yards of the perimeter of any designated dump ground or sanitary landfill. (3-31-22)
d. Place or set any ground set snare without two (2) diverters in an area identified by Commission Proclamation as requiring their use (based on levels of non-target catch of animals whose capture may be avoided by diverter use). (3-31-22)
01. Mandatory Check and Report. Any person taking the following species must comply with the specified mandatory check, report and pelt tag requirements: (7-1-26)
a. Bobcat: Present the pelt to any Department office or official check point to obtain the appropriate pelt tag and complete a harvest report. (3-31-22)
b. River otter: Present the pelt to the Department office in the region in which the animal was taken within seventy-two (72) hours of taking, to obtain the appropriate pelt tag and complete a harvest report. Trappers unable to comply with the tagging requirements due to special or unique circumstances must report their harvest to the appropriate regional office or field personnel within seventy-two (72) hours and make arrangements for tagging at the proper regional office. (7-1-26)
c. Gray wolf: Comply with mandatory check and report provisions in IDAPA 13.01.08.420.” (7-1-26)
d. Wildlife listed on the federal list of threatened and endangered species: Report any capture within
twenty-four (24) hours to the Department. (7-1-26)
a. No person may have in possession, except during the open season and for ten (10) days after the close of the season, any raw bobcat pelt without an official state export tag attached, unless that person has a fur buyer or taxidermist license or appropriate import documentation. (3-31-22)
b. No person may have in possession, except during the open season and for seventy-two (72) hours after the close of the season, any raw otter pelt legally harvested in Idaho that does not have an official state export tag attached. (3-31-22)
c. No person may sell, offer for sale, purchase, or offer to purchase any raw bobcat or otter pelt that does not have an official state export tag attached, unless that person has a fur buyer or taxidermist license or appropriate import documentation. (3-31-22)
01. Game Preserves. The Commission may, by proclamation, open state game preserves (established by Title 36, Chapter 19, Idaho Code) for taking furbearing animals. (7-1-26)
02. Department-Owned or Managed Land. Any person desiring to trap on Department-owned or controlled lands must register in advance at the Department Regional office or the office for the specific Wildlife Management Area. The Regional Supervisor may establish and post, pursuant to IDAPA 13.01.03, additional restrictions or requirements for trapping on a property-specific basis. (7-1-26)
Whenever a stream or river forms a boundary between two (2) different trapping areas, the stream or river channel proper will open for trapping on the earlier opening date and close on the later closing date of the two (2) seasons involved. (3-31-22)
01. Trapping Report Completion. A trapping license holder shall complete the mandatory furtaker (trapping) harvest report, including both target and non-target catch, for the trapping license year by submission on the Department form via the Department website, in person at a Department office, or by mailing to Box 25, Boise, Idaho 83707. Unless a trapping license holder has submitted a report for that respective trapping license year, that person is not eligible for a trapping license for the following trapping license year. (7-1-26)
02. Return of Reports and Permits. All permittees shall return their controlled trapping unit permits and controlled trapping reports to the person from whom they obtained their controlled trapping unit permits within ten (10) days of the close of the season for the controlled trapping unit. (3-31-22)