TRAPPERS AND PREDATOR HUNTERS GEARING UP FOR NEW SEASONS
The Pennsylvania Game Commission noted that many of the state's furbearer trapping and hunting seasons are underway and, based on comments from its field officers, hunters and trappers should have a successful year. The general trapping season - for coyotes, foxes, raccoons, opossums, skunks and weasels - opened Oct. 21 and runs through Feb. 17. The season for mink and muskrats is Nov. 17 to Jan. 6; beavers, Dec. 26 to March 31.
Raccoon hunting season began Oct. 20 and closes Feb. 16, and the season for skunks, possums and weasels runs from July 1 to June 30, except for Sundays.
Red and gray foxes hunting season opened Oct. 20 and runs through Feb. 16, including Sundays. Coyotes have a year-round season (July 1-June 30) and can be hunted on Sundays, too.
Pennsylvania also has bobcat hunting and trapping seasons in nine Wildlife Management Units (WMUs 2A, 2C, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D) for the 1,010 individuals who were selected in the Game Commission's annual bobcat permit drawing. The bobcat hunting season started Oct. 20 and closes to Feb. 16, except for Sundays.
GAME COMMISSION OFFERS LOCAL FURBEARER INFORMATION
Each year, Pennsylvania Game Commission field officers and foresters develop game and furbearer forecasts for the areas they work to share with interested hunters and trappers. Observations on local furbearer populations are always a part of this annual offering. The Pennsylvania Game Commission's "Field Officer Game and Furbearer Forecasts" can be found centered on the homepage of the agency's website -
www.pgc.state.pa.us.
GAME COMMISSION OFFERS TRAPPING TIPS AND BRIEFS
For more information, please visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency website:
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=172791