by: Clayton McMahan, Joe Carroll
Posted: Mar 17, 2025 / 04:28 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 18, 2025 / 02:45 PM EDT
SHARE Indiana board approves bobcat trapping season despite opposition
by: Clayton McMahan, Joe Carroll
Posted: Mar 17, 2025 / 04:28 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 18, 2025 / 02:45 PM EDT
SHARE https://www.wane.com/news/indiana/vote-to-establish-rules-for-indiana-bobcat-trapping-season-set-for-tuesday/
*The video above is from the DNR discussing bobcat sightings in northeast Indiana in 2023
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — On Tuesday, the Indiana Natural Resources Committee (NRC) voted to approve a proposal that sets parameters for a bobcat trapping season in Indiana.
The approval took place during a 10 a.m. meeting at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis.
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The move comes after the Indiana General Assembly pushed through a law during the 2024 legislative season that required the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish a bobcat trapping season by July 1, 2025.
The NRC is an “autonomous board” that addresses DNR-related issues and consists of six Hoosiers chosen by the governor on a “bipartisan basis,” along with three people from other state agencies, DNR Director Alan Morrison and a representative from the Indiana Academy of Science.
The newly approved trapping season for bobcats will take place from Nov. 8 to Jan. 31 and includes a statewide quota of 250 bobcats per season.
Hunters would only be allowed to trap bobcat in 40 counties that all reside in southern Indiana while maintaining an individual bag limit of one bobcat.
According to the DNR, the bobcat trapping season would still allow the department to manage Indiana’s natural resources responsibly and would also tackle “emerging bobcat damage issues” such as the taking of livestock.
It also sets rules on what traps can be used and what can be done with the animal after being captured.
One group against the proposal, Humane World for Animals, attended Tuesday’s meeting to speak out against the idea of a bobcat trapping season.
The organization issued the following statement following the vote and approval.
“It is a sad day for wildlife conservation in Indiana. The Natural Resources Commission’s decision to greenlight the trapping and killing of 250 of Indiana’s recovering bobcats – when there is still no adequate population data and no scientific evidence to justify killing hundreds of bobcats – contradicts ethical and science-based wildlife conservation. This instead favors a tiny special interest group who wish to profit off Indiana’s wildlife by selling bobcat furs to overseas markets,” said Samantha Chapman, Indiana state director at Humane World for Animals.
“Making matters worse, the Commission limited public participation by cutting off testimony, silencing many advocates who had signed up to speak against this decision. The Commission had the authority to establish a bobcat trapping quota of zero but failed to listen to the vast majority of Hoosiers who oppose recreationally trapping bobcats with neck snares, leghold traps, and cage traps – inhumane devices that also endanger pets. I hope that the Commission will revisit their decision as soon as possible.”
“We believe that there is really a lack of data,” Chapman said. “There hasn’t been a population study fully conducted to understand how many bobcats we actually have within the state.”
Bobcats are Indiana’s only native species of wild cat, and while they are more common in southern Indiana, the DNR has also seen sightings increase in the state’s northeast quadrant in recent years.
The bobcat was removed from Indiana’s endangered species list in 2005 after being on the state’s initial list in 1969. According to the DNR, bobcats were almost completely gone from Indiana in the early 1900s.
The full proposal can also be viewed on the DNR’s website.
*The video above is from the DNR discussing bobcat sightings in northeast Indiana in 2023
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — On Tuesday, the Indiana Natural Resources Committee (NRC) voted to approve a proposal that sets parameters for a bobcat trapping season in Indiana.
The approval took place during a 10 a.m. meeting at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis.
Up Next – Federal Reserve meets this week amid economic uncertainty
The move comes after the Indiana General Assembly pushed through a law during the 2024 legislative season that required the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish a bobcat trapping season by July 1, 2025.
The NRC is an “autonomous board” that addresses DNR-related issues and consists of six Hoosiers chosen by the governor on a “bipartisan basis,” along with three people from other state agencies, DNR Director Alan Morrison and a representative from the Indiana Academy of Science.
The newly approved trapping season for bobcats will take place from Nov. 8 to Jan. 31 and includes a statewide quota of 250 bobcats per season.
Hunters would only be allowed to trap bobcat in 40 counties that all reside in southern Indiana while maintaining an individual bag limit of one bobcat.
According to the DNR, the bobcat trapping season would still allow the department to manage Indiana’s natural resources responsibly and would also tackle “emerging bobcat damage issues” such as the taking of livestock.
It also sets rules on what traps can be used and what can be done with the animal after being captured.
One group against the proposal, Humane World for Animals, attended Tuesday’s meeting to speak out against the idea of a bobcat trapping season.
The organization issued the following statement following the vote and approval.
“It is a sad day for wildlife conservation in Indiana. The Natural Resources Commission’s decision to greenlight the trapping and killing of 250 of Indiana’s recovering bobcats – when there is still no adequate population data and no scientific evidence to justify killing hundreds of bobcats – contradicts ethical and science-based wildlife conservation. This instead favors a tiny special interest group who wish to profit off Indiana’s wildlife by selling bobcat furs to overseas markets,” said Samantha Chapman, Indiana state director at Humane World for Animals.
“Making matters worse, the Commission limited public participation by cutting off testimony, silencing many advocates who had signed up to speak against this decision. The Commission had the authority to establish a bobcat trapping quota of zero but failed to listen to the vast majority of Hoosiers who oppose recreationally trapping bobcats with neck snares, leghold traps, and cage traps – inhumane devices that also endanger pets. I hope that the Commission will revisit their decision as soon as possible.”
“We believe that there is really a lack of data,” Chapman said. “There hasn’t been a population study fully conducted to understand how many bobcats we actually have within the state.”
Bobcats are Indiana’s only native species of wild cat, and while they are more common in southern Indiana, the DNR has also seen sightings increase in the state’s northeast quadrant in recent years.
The bobcat was removed from Indiana’s endangered species list in 2005 after being on the state’s initial list in 1969. According to the DNR, bobcats were almost completely gone from Indiana in the early 1900s.
The full proposal can also be viewed on the DNR’s website.
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