The creation of separate bobcat and gray fox seasons is just one of the regulation changes made by members of the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners during their June meeting in Lovelock.
Other regulation changes include the creation of some new hunting seasons for wild turkey, but hunters will also see some reduction in the number of tags available in some units for the upcoming fall and spring wild turkey hunts.
In years past the bobcat and gray fox seasons ran concurrently from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28 of the ensuing year. During that time frame hunters and trappers could harvest either animal, but under new regulations the bobcat season won't open until Dec. 1 and will close Feb. 19. That means there will be 30 days before and nine days after the bobcat season when hunters and trappers may legally harvest gray foxes but not bobcats.
"Trappers who accidentally catch a bobcat during those times when the gray fox season is open and the bobcat season is closed must immediately release the animal. If a bobcat dies in a trap, the trapper must immediately notify the Nevada Department of Wildlife and turn the animal over to an NDOW representative as soon as possible," said Captain Cameron Waithman, staff game warden for NDOW.
Trappers can report accidental take of bobcats by calling the Operation Game Thief hotline, 1-800-992-3030. A list of NDOW offices and their addresses can be found online at
www.ndow.org.
Trappers who fail to release live bobcats or turn in any mortality can be charged with unlawful possession of a bobcat during a closed season, added Waithman.
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