[twoblink]

I'm fairly curious, are there laws as far as huntin' (removing) pests such as gophers, Pdogs, lawn rats, rabbits etc..?

I mean, are there licenses involved, or seasons etc? Are there daily limits, or it's a free-for-all if the owner of the land ok's it?

Up in Oregon, my friend's husband is the Park Ranger is the area and so nobody says anything. But I've always wondered, nobody says anything because he's the park ranger, or because that's the law?

[Stand_Watie]

It totally depends upon the state you live in and what you classify a "pest". My grandad got a "pest permit" one year in Maine for whitetail deer eating up his beans. Here in Texas rabbits are a game animal and there are limits upon their hunting, while rats and mice are vermin and you can kill them in anyway you want.

[Larry Ashcraft]

In Colorado, there are no seasons on varmints; coyotes, prairie dogs, pigeons etc. BUT, I've been told by the DOW that carrying a gun in the field requires a small game license at least. I don't believe that applies if you're on your own property.

Cottontail rabbits and snowshoe hares are game and have seasons. Jackrabbits are considered varmints.

[Sunray]

Ditto up here. Ground hogs, crows, fox, jack rabbits and, I think, coyotes have no closed season, but you must have a small game hunting licence. If you're found in the bush with a firearm, you are assumed to be hunting and therefore, must have a licence. No licence and you're charged with hunting without one.

[countertop]

Actually have been doing some research on this subject in Georgia and not finding the answers I want.

We have three seperate dens of foxes around our home and since I assume Foxes are rabid, I want to shoot them and get them off my property ASAP (I have a two year old plus a couple of labs who like to play in the woods). In georgia Foxes are considered a fur bearing game and require a special license with greatly restricted time frames for hunting.

There are no provisions for rabid animals that I can find. The local game warden told my father in law to just shoot them, that Georgia law allows that, but he was unable to cite any section. The lawyer in me just doesn't accept that response - though in a very small and very rural town, it probably is as good as Im gonna get.

If anyone has any insight, I'd aprpeciate it.

[Art Eatman]

Dunno about Jawgia law, but if you see an animal that's out of the norm in behavior, you have reason to believe it could be rabid, and better safe than sorry. Rabies symptoms include an absence of fear of people, awkward or staggering movements, and only sometimes the proverbial "foaming at the mouth".

However, if you have established, stable dens, you have a possibility of rabies; no certainty. Foxes gotta eat, though, and if the "far aints" haven't wiped out the quail population, the foxes will certainly hold it down.

You kill off the foxes and the field mice will love you--and your house and your garage and the wiring of your car...

As to "varmints", Texas law speaks only to sale of hides for bobcat and coyotes. Otherwise, if you're not selling the hides, bobcat, coyotes, mountain lions and foxes are considered pests.

Art