??MN nuisance trappers??

If you are removing beaver out of season for a land owner can you keep the beaver fur/caster. If you catch a incidental muskrat can you keep it?

No on the rat, not sure on the technicallities of the beaver parts on private land.

Contact local conservation officer in area of nuisance trapping for answer

No and no. I was told, any animal taken outside of season has to be left at/near catch site. I have done a few jobs on private land where the DNR picked up beavers I had trapped for state training/demos.

Thanks trapperkeck, that is what I thought. I saw a MN guy with pictures of beaver and rats he caught today doing nuisance work in MN on another site. He was asking what to charge for his work. I told him I did not think he could keep them in MN and he said he was doing the DNR a favor by trapping nuisance animals. I ask if that made it legal and he said he could. The beaver season is open in ND year round , so I could keep beaver. But you can not keep rats, even if they were incidental's during the off season. I really like people that you try to help, and they tell you to take a hike.

What is wrong with keeping a non target rat….for crying out loud, Explain the reasoning behind that …..

We can keep incidentals here as long as we fill out a permit to posess out of season on line.
All the fur we catch in season is recorded in harvest reports and submitted at season end-if you are several pelts over on a species you need to account for it.
That is how incidentals are accounted for.
Lots of different regs in different jurisdictions regarding incidental and or over quota/out of season catches

What would keep you from trapping more rats than beaver while doing beaver work if you could keep them? How could they prove you were catch rats intentionally?

To many "non-targets" caught on purpose. It might be hard to believe but their are unethical folks who call themselves trappers.

Forgot about the dirtbags ….my mind doesn’t work that way…thanks for the explanation.

Minnesota is afraid of double dipping
So they told me when I got my permits first time years ago.
Getting paid out of season for nuisance work And for fur or other parts.

It's dumb but true

I call a CO on all otter to be picked up.
Beaver and rats have to be thrown or disposed of.

*** but always talk the "book" with the CO that is in your Area. Before working...be on the same page.

X2!

Do you think CO's are stupid?

It is not hard to tell if someone is doing that.

It's spelled out in clear wording on every trapper that has a yearly permit to take out of season animals from the MN DNR. No animal or part thereof may be kept or unitized for any purpose.

As of a few years ago, the MN DNR quit putting beaver on the yearly out of season take permit. NOW, every beaver job has to be run through the local conservation officer for a personal permit for that specific location. Somehow as of recent, entities within the DNR have popped up and apparently think the beaver needs added protection/permitting, taking up valuable time for the conservation officers already stretched thin. Again this makes zero sense since all out of season catches are reported to the MN DNR in order to renew our yearly permit.

...and that is why farmers gauge them.

I do not care if the CO is stupid, that should not change whether it is legal to keep the muskrats and beaver in MN when the season is closed. It has nothing to do with Canada and reporting all your fur. I ask a question about MN. I did not ask if it made sense to throw them out. I ask if they were legal to keep them in MN.
Thanks Calvin. That is how I thought it was.

I am not answering you original question directly just participating in the flow of the convo,and pointing out what would stop someone from intentionally targeting rats when trapping nuisance beaver-like you postulated.
And if you are a poacher(not you personally),its just a matter of time before you get caught.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2019/cite/97B.667/subd/97B.667.2#stat.97B.667.2

Not sure if this answers questions or raises more.

Other states have a spring rat season and don't seem to have a problem.

Some states have a year round beaver trapping too. No permit ever required to trap nuisance beaver anytime of the year. But the question was about MN.

I agree that it makes zero sense not to utilize the beaver caught on ADC, so, with that in mind just disposing or dumping the beaver is not only littering but wanton waste. So, keeping them is illegal and dumping them is also, In other words trapping ADC beaver out of season proves to be breaking some law no matter how you deal with the caught beaver, let alone the paperwork involved.
A friend just caught a pregnant female beaver two days ago on a nuisance job that was permitted for the township and he cut her open to find 4 perfectly formed kits. He wanted to have one mounted for himself so I told him to talk to his CO to see if he could get a permit for it. After his CO consulted with another official, he was told no but that if he wanted he could take the castor and meat for trapping bait. So, I guess it is up to the discretion of whoever is your local officer and how he wants to deal with the issue. Talk to them before making any decisions.

Yes, local CO's can and often do use some descretion regarding use of ADC beaver. Always good to maintain a good relationship with your local CO's.

I have done years of out of season nuisance control and even carried a DNR permit for several years. Had to fill out my report card diligently each year and turn it in. Bottom line is exactly what Calvin said. As always in doubt contact your C.O. Things are not always the way we like them to be but laws are laws.

You are correct with the no and no. Every time I trapped beaver out of season, I was reminded that I couldn't take any part of the animal whether it be fur, castors, tail, etc.
I had one job where beaver had dammed up a channel flooding the farmer's field. I trapped 5 beaver and left them lay. Later, I got a call from the farmer mad that I left the beaver on his land to rot. I told him by law I couldn't take them off the site. If I got caught with them in my truck, I'd get a ticket. He said that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard of.

I called the CO who told me I couldn't keep them and asked he what I was supposed to do with them? She said I should have buried them on site. It's really pretty stupid because the fur is pretty much worthless in the warmer months.