TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has granted final adoption to allow the regulated trapping of bobcats in designated southern Indiana counties.
In 2024, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation directing the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to have rules in place for bobcat harvest by July 2025.
The approved rules include:
- Establishing a bobcat trapping season in 40 southern Indiana counties
- Setting a limit of one bobcat per trapper and a cumulative season limit of 250 bobcats for all trappers combined
- Allowing bobcats and their parts that are legally acquired to be sold.
- Allowing bobcats that are found dead to be kept by people with a permit.
- Adding bobcats to the list of species for which a game breeder’s license is required.
According to the IDNR, analysis shows that a high-quality habitat can support regulated harvest while also maintaining a healthy sustainable bobcat population. Other states including Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Wisconsin currently have seasons to take bobcats.
IDNR anticipates that Indiana’s first bobcat trapping season will begin this fall.
