Is this a big deal?

https://www.trappersreport.com/story/YEAR-ROUND-HUNTING-OF-COONS_POSSUMS-PASSED_31820229140233

Did I read it correctly? I don't understand how this is a good thing.

Our turkey population is in decline. Along with delaying the start of season by a week and reducing the bag limit, we are hoping this passes. No one hunts possums or coons really. Even dog hunters just run them to tree them and then move on to the next. We have PLENTY of each and they need managed. Their hoping is that taking them during the actual nesting season will have a positive impact, and it will.

All legal trapping and hunting is a good thing.

Curious why you think it's a bad thing? I'm assuming they think they have an overpopulation of possums and coons.

Take a ride through our State. If it wasn’t for cars and trucks our population would be seriously out of control. Taught my boys to never avoid missing a coon or possum in the road, lol.

I don't think it's a bad thing. I wrote I didn't understand how it was a good thing. I just thought we trapped/hunting for a reason, in a specific season. All the reasons we know. But maybe the south is different. I would like to understand better.

I'd assume it wouldn't increase the harvest a ton, they're still only prime during certain parts of the year. Presumably the last boy reason to hunt them outside of late fall/winter would be for fun or for ADC type stuff.

Same as Florida, we can take hog, possum, coon, yote, skunks, nutria, beaver and rabbit year round. Daily bag limit of 12 rabbits, no limit on other species.
There is no shortage of any species

Y’all trap for fur. The few here that trap do so for management purposes. Quail is still King and there’s many private wild bird plantations around. Year round trapping on those places ensures there’s always wild birds. What benefits quail also benefits turkeys…habitat and predator management.

Population control

Raccoon and possum populations are nuts and like others have said, no one hunts them anymore. Trapper numbers are low in Georgia and numbers have been growing. I have raccoons and possums on my trail cams almost every night and these are in areas that I trap during the season.

with no one intensely trapping either for their fur, populations have sored so it gives an opportunity to pre nesting get in and take care of the primary egg predators. around primary nesting locations , it seems good to me.

I really don't think there will be wide spread abuse of the year round

anyone running for meat market coon isn't likely to want to run in the heat.

Over population of beaver in Florida??? I would never have thought that.......jk

Most don’t want any coons for dinner after April. They won’t take them until we get back to the months ending in R.

Getting rid of corn feeders would be a big help.

What about the other critters such as deer and turkey that the feeders help?

We have that on most furbearer varmints here jackrabbit, coyotes, fox, badger, coon, possum and skunks it does not mean people are actively hunting them all the time but trapping they do get targeted by the bird interest folks more so. Many tractors and most trucks have rifles in then they see a yote or badger or whatever they take care of it.

The main advantage is you don’t need to deal with the system to get approvals to control pests causing issues you see them, boom you end your problem or just keep it from becoming a problem to begin with.

We can manage coyotes year round in KS, by any (normal) means.

help how , we have had none in WI in a while and our deer herd isn't suffering nor turkeys

do they grow as big and fat maybe not but no baiting or feeding for more than a decade now and 20 years in several zones

natural feed is a better answer than a congregation point of sugar and high starch feeds

want big deer plant hay

Since these hunting clubs feed deer year round the possum and coons populations explode. I dont know anyone that hunts them anymore. The hides have been worthless for years down here so noone bothers them until they start destroying stuff. What opening up year round seasons will do is allow these hunting clubs time to trap out the excess critters they have been feeding into an unnaturally high local population. Trust me, they will not do it during deer season which usually coincides with trapping season. They are afraid it might run off a buck. They usually wont let trappers on the property during deer season either.

But noone is gonna be running long lines for possums and coons in georgia for the hides in summer, or any other season for that matter. Also i doubt that opening up the season will really even change the population much. But it will allow some people a chance to thin out local dense places.