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Trapping Laws & Rules
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Index
- Trapping License Information
- Definitions and Descriptions
- General Trapping Regulations
- Regulations for Specific Types of Traps
- Killer-Type (Conibear) Trap Rules
- Trap Tending Laws
- Landowner Permission Requirements
- Regulations for Specific Species
- Biological Samples
- Lynx Protection and Trap Restrictions
- Tagging Requirements
- Bear Trapping
- Beaver Trapping Closures
- Identifying Rare Mammals
- Fur Tagging Stations
- Reminders for the 2024-2025 Season
- Trapping Seasons
- Wildlife Management Districts
Reminders for the 2024-2025 Season
Beaver Trapping Closures: An updated list of open and closed areas to beaver trapping are listed here.
Jaw/Tooth Sample Requirement: Trappers and hunters must submit a lower jaw or canine tooth for fisher, marten, and river otter and a lower jaw, canine tooth, or lateral incisor tooth and meat sample for bobcat at the time of fur registration . Partial jaws are not acceptable because they have resulted in too many broken canines over the past several years. Learn more about biological samples.
Mandatory Trapper Harvest Reports: Fall and Spring Harvest Reports are due for all licensed trappers 16 years and older, by January 31 and May 31, even if a trapper did not trap. Click here to complete your surveys online. Click here to view instructions (PDF)
Trap Restrictions to Protect Lynx: Canada lynx are a federally listed Threatened Species. There is no open season for the trapping or hunting of lynx in Maine. To protect lynx and to help Maine trappers avoid accidentally taking lynx, the Department has delineated a lynx protection zone in northern Maine where special regulations are in effect. Learn about the lynx protection zone and trap restrictions here.
2025-2026 Trapping Seasons
Beaver trapping season dates as well as open and closed areas are subject to change annually.
| Season | Area | Season Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Early Fox & Coyote | Statewide | October 19, 2025 - November 1, 2025 |
| Early Muskrat | WMDs 1-6 & 9-11 | October 26, 2025 - November 1, 2025 |
| Beaver | WMDs 1-4 | October 19, 2025 - April 30, 2026 |
| WMDs 5, 6 & 8-11 | October 26, 2025 - April 30, 2026 | |
| WMDs 7 & 12-29 | October 26, 2025 - April 15, 2026 | |
| Bear | Statewide | September 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025 |
| General Trapping (bobcat, coyote, fisher, fox, mink, muskrat*, opossum, otter, raccoon, red squirrel, marten, skunk, weasel) | Statewide | November 2, 2025 - December 31, 2025 |