The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reminds bobcat trappers that beginning Friday, November 20, recreational and commercial bobcat trapping will no longer be allowed in California.
At a meeting in Fortuna on August 5, 2015, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted regulations to ban bobcat trapping statewide. On November 13, 2015, the Office of Administrative Law approved those regulations to be effective November 20.
The new regulation related to hunting and trapping of bobcats, (Section 478 of Title 14, California Code of Regulations) states “It shall be unlawful to trap any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or part of any bobcat taken in the State of California.”
Any holder of a trapping license who traps a bobcat shall immediately release the bobcat to the wild unharmed. Also beginning Friday, November 20, CDFW will no longer mark bobcat pelts for personal use or issue shipping tags for commercial sale of bobcat pelts taken in California.
