Act No. 159 (S.201). An act relating to best management practices (BPMs) for trapping
Act No. 165 (S.281). An act relating to hunting coyotes with dogs
Best Management Practices for Trapping (Act No. 159)
This act requires the Fish and Wildlife Department to work with the Legislature and the Fish and Wildlife Board to establish rules that implement best management practices that modernize trapping and improve the welfare of wildlife taken with the use of traps.
Timeline:
May and June 2023 - The department will accept public comment on new proposed regulations on trapping and will make additional recommendations to the proposal advanced by the board on April 5, 2023. As drafted, the proposal will:
- Create a safety buffer between public highways, trails on most state lands, and places where most traps can be set, to reduce the risk of pets or people encountering traps.
- Prohibit the use of body-gripping traps on the ground except when certain safety criteria are met, to reduce the risk of pets or non-target species being killed in traps.
- Require that all traps used in Vermont meet mechanical standards that reduce the risk of harm to trapped animals.
- Require that meat-based baits used to attract animals to traps be covered from sight, to reduce the risk of attracting birds of prey.
- Require that live-trapped animals be killed immediately by the trapper, with a firearm, muzzleloader, bow, or crossbow, to give the animals a more humane death.
Public comment emails can be sent to ANR.FWPublicComment@vermont.gov Deadline for comments is Friday, June 30, 2023.
Public hearings will be held in person and online at:
- Tuesday, June 20, 6:30-8:30 pm. Rutland Middle School, 67 Library Avenue, Rutland VT | map
- Wednesday, June 21, 6:30-8:30 pm. Montpelier High School, 5 High School Drive, Montpelier VT | map
- Thursday, June 22, 6:30-8:30. Online via Microsoft Teams at: https://tinyurl.com/trappinghearing
February- March 2023 - The department began the rule making process with the Fish and Wildlife Board. It is expected that new rules from this process will be finalized and become effective during the 2024 trapping season. No changes to trapping regulations will be made during the 2022/23 season.
January 17, 2023 - A report to the Legislature was submitted
November 29, 2022 - A public meeting to collect feedback was held
- View video of the Public Meeting to Collect Input on the Department's Recommendations for Trapping BMPs ( + 1 hour)
- Furbearer BMP Public Meeting Focus Questions - 11.29.2022
November 22, 2022 - A first set of draft recommended rule changes became available
- VFWD Trapping BMP Draft Recommendations and Stakeholder Recommendation Synopsies-11.22.2022 - updated 12.27.2022
August 4 – September 27, 2022 - The department convened a stakeholder working group to identify potential areas of common ground for updated regulations
- 8-4-2022 Meeting minutes and video (3 hours)
- 8-23-2022 Meeting minutes and video (+3 hours)
- 9-8-2022 Meeting minutes and video (3 hours)
- 9-27-2022 Meeting minutes and video (2 hours)
June 1, 2022 - The process to establish these best management practices was initiated
See also:
- Wildlife Conservation Depends on Regulated Trapping (Op-Ed 4/24/2023) | PDF
- VT Residents’ Attitudes Toward Furbearer Management - The department contracted with a leading natural resource survey firm to conduct a survey of Vermont residents’ knowledge and opinions of the department and our furbearer conservation efforts.
- Act No. 159 Summary
- Act No. 159 As Enacted
Hunting Coyotes with Dogs (Act No. 165)
This act creates a moratorium on hunting coyotes with dogs, effective July 1, 2022, with some exceptions. 
What Has Not Changed Regarding Hunting Coyotes
- There is no closed hunting season on coyote.
- Coyotes may be hunted at any time under natural light. Artificial lights and sighting devices that project a beam of any kind of light are prohibited when shooting at a coyote.
What Has Changed Regarding Hunting Coyotes
- Coyotes may not be pursued with the aid of dogs, nor trained to pursue coyotes, until the Fish and Wildlife Board passes a rule that regulates the hunting method. A draft regulation is being developed.
- An exception to the current moratorium: Hunters may pursue and take coyotes with the aid of dogs if they are on their own property and acting in defense of a person or property, or if they have signed permission from a landowner who has a legitimate defense of persons or property concern.
Timeline:
May and June 2023 - The department will accept public comment on new proposed regulations on hunting coyotes with dogs advanced by the board on April 5, 2023. As drafted, the proposal will:
- Create a 100-permit limit on the number of hunters licensed to hunt coyotes with the aid of dogs in Vermont, to track the scope of this practice.
- Establish a season from December 15 through March 31, and a training season from June 1 through September 15, to define the time of year when this practice may happen.
- Require that hunters register their coyote hunting dogs, and limit the number of registered dogs each hunter may use to four or fewer, to ensure a standard of fair chase.
- Require that all dogs wear GPS and a control-collar units at all times during a hunt, to allow hunters to track and call off their dogs to minimize the risk of dogs trespassing on posted land.
- Require that all coyotes killed during hunts with dogs be reported to the department.
- Require that coyotes hunted with dogs must be killed with a gun, muzzle loader, bow, or crossbow.
View a table comparing the legislature’s directives and the board’s proposal
Public comment emails can be sent to ANR.FWPublicComment@vermont.gov Deadline for comments is Friday, June 30, 2023.
Public hearings will be held in person and online at:
- Tuesday, June 20, 6:30-8:30 pm. Rutland Middle School, 67 Library Avenue, Rutland VT | map
- Wednesday, June 21, 6:30-8:30 pm. Montpelier High School, 5 High School Drive, Montpelier VT | map
- Thursday, June 22, 6:30-8:30. Online via Microsoft Teams at: https://tinyurl.com/trappinghearing
January 10, 2023 - the stakeholder group meeting to provide comment on the draft rule, prior to the draft being finalized for the Fish & Wildlife Board’s consideration.
October 2022 - A stakeholder group was established and surveyed for on their regulation preferences to inform the development of a draft rule.