In montana we have to buy our trapper license before November 31st
In order to trap bobcats.
What's your state requirements?
Had a jack wagon trap bobcats and never even got a trapper license.
Caught bobcats and tried to tag them in, they got taken away by Worden.

And the sharpest knife in the drawer award goes too. Lol

Just before ya set a trap. I could buy one tomorrow morning and set immediately after. Never heard of having to buy one in advance like that before.....

… don’t need a trappers license for bobcat and coyote here

Are cat considered a nuisance animal there??

… non game predator is what they’re classified as

In Utah we have to have a current trapping license before buying bobcat tags (limit six) in October. The bobcat season starts about the third week of November.

Beartooth, doesn't the bobcat season open Dec. 1?

In Alaska your license is good until Sept. 30 of the next year.

Ours expire Jan 10th, legally you have to buy a new one before you set any traps, don't matter when that is. I just buy mine a day or two before the 10th of Jan every year.

We have a lottery to potentially take one bobcat.

Yes opens December 1st
Trapping license is good from June 1st till may 31st.

I buy mine in June cause I do damage beaver work.

They should do the same here, won't be as many bobcats wasted.
Our state does nothing with them, just wait till the fine is paid
and into the incinerator they go.

Just a waste, as messed as the the trappers that don't read and learn the regulations.

I’ve known several people over the years that THOUGHT they’d purchased a Furbearer License in Montana, glanced at the printed out license and saw ‘trapping’ mentioned in the printout, and assumed they were good to go.

The problem is, ‘trapping’ was mentioned in a state lands mention on the license

In every case, the person had bought multiple license at one time, and when the clerk gave them the total dollar amount, folded it up, and paid for it .

It was a confusing deal, and I hope they’ve fixed it.

As for the NEED to purchase a license before the season ever starts. I’ve never been able to get an answer on WHY that needs to be done in Montana

My guess is that it dates back to late 70’s and early 80’s when the ‘cat limit was one in several districts of the state

The might have done it to stop people from buying a license AFTER catching one, or perhaps to tag a bobcat for a friend or family member, but who knows.

It was a 5 ‘cat limit in a lot of the state for several years, and didn’t get upped to 10 until about 1992.

In the early to mid 90’s, only a handful of people caught their 10 ‘cat limit in Montana, and a very small handful did it every year.

It took us trips to Helena and visits with Commissioners and sitting through hearings to get it changed to unlimited in most districts.

For me, it’s hard to believe that rule is still in effect.

Some people decide to go trapping and over Christmas break, or take up trapping after going with a friend. Why make them wait a whole year is pointless to me.

And don’t even get me started on the skull collection and the whacko low bobcat quotas in some areas, like Region 5 being at 50 and the season already closed for the year.

Just my opinion, but I lived it for several years. I’m one of the 5 people that pushed to get the limits raised at least

Have a good day. John

Mo. license is June 30 to Jun30. This insures a license thru our Mar 31 beaver season.

In PA you have to purchase a hunting and/or furtaking license prior to purchasing a bobcat permit. We are limited to one bobcat per license year by either hunting or trapping.

You have to purchase your bobcat permit prior to the start date of the trapping season which starts before the hunting season.

That is to stop folks from catching one as a non-target then buying the permit after the fact.

Love our Wyoming season and just buy a license before you go trap. No limit on bobcats but I sure wish we could trap mt lions legally.

In Kansas a landowner doesn't need any license to trap their own land (source):

In Illinois we can buy a trapping license any time but they are only good till the end of March.
For bobcats we can catch them all we want but can't keep one unless we have a valid tag which is $ and is a lottery system. I have drawn one in 6 tries now.

Georgia trapping licenses are valid from date of purchase until the following March 31st. Can buy the license anytime.

Bobcats are listed as a game animal and a furbearer. Trapping and hunting season is Dec1st to last day of February.

No limit.

They probably want to know how many trappers will be out so they can set limits/quota's!

New licenses due to renew by January 31 combo, furbearer, habitat stamp and hard card around $100 Nothing special to trap cats here but limits in the Black Hills and east river might be a limit from Mt Lion pressure in the Hills.