02/15/2020
With the recent comments that have been going on about The Ohio Division of Wildlife's proposal for coyote regulations it's obvious that a lot of people have questions or are getting bad information. Following is a statement from the Ohio State Trappers Association about the facts. This is not a discussion item, it is a statement of facts that will answer questions.
Feel free to share this post.
Let’s clear the coyote air.
There has been a lot of bad information and false accusations floating around since the 1/15/20 Wildlife Council Meeting. Many people have gotten worked up into lather over it because of poor interpretation and lack of knowledge and understanding. You will see some facts below. All of these facts are readily available for anyone who wishes to check them out, or actually contact an official from the Ohio State Trappers Association (OSTA).
First, the proposal does not list coyotes as a fur bearer. Coyotes have been listed as a fur-bearing animal in the state of Ohio since some time in the 1980’s. A check of the Ohio revised Code, section 1531.01 scroll down to line W will show this. This is not because of the current proposal, it has not been approved or disapproved yet, and this is existing state law, again, coyotes are already a fur bearer.
Next, a Fur Taker permit has always been required to take fur bearers since its creation several decades ago. Check Ohio Revised Code, section 1533.111 scroll down to line F, it is the most applicable for the question at hand. Again, this is existing state law; it has nothing to do with the proposal put forth at the 1/15/20 Wildlife Council meeting.
The reason you have not needed to posses a fur taker permit to hunt or trap coyote in Ohio in the past is because of an exception in the Ohio Administrative Code. I am not going to look that up because the proposal is simply to eliminate the OAC exception, which for years has been contradictory to the ORC. As you can see, the fur taker permit portion of the proposal does not create anything new; it just eliminates the OAC exception and any confusion created by it.
Because of the OAC exception, people who are not trappers, but feel they are saving the deer population by killing coyotes, have been ever increasingly trapping, mainly snaring coyotes starting right after the deer season ends. Whether you feel it’s helping the deer population or not is of no consequence in this discussion. The issue is that people with no fur taker permit or trapper education are allowed to, and are trapping coyotes, and this has the potential to be extremely problematic. Without even being required to take the basic trapper education course, since no fur taker permit is required, it allows untrained people to use traps, which are excellent and needed management tools, but proper training is important for effective use of these tools and for maintaining the confidence and support of the voting public who allow us to trap, hunt and fish.
While I am always amazed at the power that some seem to think the OSTA has, it is not true. The OSTA is a group of well organized individuals who have maintained a close and professional working relationship with Ohio Division of Wildlife staff for decades. We do not always agree on issues, but we work with staff and we work it out. We do not just sit back and complain, we talk and we act. We don’t demand, we discuss, listen and learn, all sportsmen’s groups would do well to follow this model.
Several years ago the OSTA board unanimously voted to ask that a fur taker permit be required of anyone trapping coyotes, which in turn would create the requirement that the individual possessing the permit had to at least take the basic trapper education course. The basic course does not teach someone to be a commercial trapper. It gives them a working knowledge of the proper tools and equipment and the usage of such, but most importantly it teaches ethics, responsibility and respect, as long as the student takes it to heart. Would this solve all the worlds’ problem? Absolutely not, but it’s a step in the right direction, away from the ballot box.
The second part of the proposal is a coyote trapping season.
At the time we officially asked the ODOW to make the fur taker permit, with the required trapper education, mandated for trapping a coyote, our board was split about 50/50 over the implementation of a season. As society has been rapidly changing in recent years the need for management with supporting data is becoming an item of the utmost importance for the future of all consumptive users of our natural resources, we all need to understand this. At our OSTA board meeting on 1/26 we had lengthy discussion about a trapping season. After a board vote against offering an alternative season, we did vote to support the proposal as presented by the professionals of the Ohio Division of Wildlife and stand firmly behind that position.
The take a ways from this are;
Coyotes have been fur bearers in Ohio for decades; it is not a new listing.
A fur taker permit has existed in Ohio for decades; it is not a new license.
A season on coyotes is part of proper and professional wildlife management, a standard that may be needed in court or at a ballot box at anytime.
The OSTA is not a political power house that gets anything they want; they are an organized group of sportsmen that work with ODOW staff in a professional manner.
The OSTA has no interest in forcing hunters to buy a fur taker permit to shoot a coyote; the ORC is what demands that.
All of us at the OSTA are ready and willing to have a reasonable discussion with anyone, but are not interested in talking to anyone with a closed mind that is not willing to listen. In the end we may not agree completely, but at least we all will have an honest understanding of each others view points, and the truth and facts will be on the table, not a bunch of second hand internet gossip.
