OAR 635-050-0045: General Regulations

(1) The appropriate furtaker’s license or hunting license for furbearers must be in possession to hunt, trap, and/or salvage furbearers. (2) Any person possessing a valid furtaker's license or hunting license for furbearers is required to fill out and submit a completed harvest report to the Department online, by fax to (503)-947-6117, or by mail at 4034 Fairview Industrial Drive SE, Salem, OR 97302. The form shall be submitted online, received by fax, or postmarked by April 15, 2027 for the 2026-2027 seasons and April 15, 2028 for the 2027-2028 seasons. Failure to do so shall deny the license holder the opportunity to purchase a hunting license for furbearers or furtaker’s license for the following furbearer season, unless the non-compliant licensee pays a fee of $50.00 and completes and returns the harvest report form prior to the requested license being issued. (a) The required harvest report shall include specific information on each beaver taken during the beaver harvest season to include: (A) Location of harvest (i) Delineated watershed as selected from harvest survey materials (e.g., HUC8) (ii) Land ownership (e.g., state, federal, or private) (B) Reason for harvest (e.g., was beaver harvest on private land at the request of the landowner for reasons of damage) (C) Water feature where trap was set (e.g., bank of river/stream, bank of lake/pond, or bank of agricultural channel/field) (b) Any take of beaver outside of the harvest season on privately owned forestland as defined by ORS 527.620 must be reported to the local Department office through the wildlife damage complaint system and should not be included in a furtaker harvest report. (Pursuant to ORS 527.620(7), “forestland” is defined as land that is used for the growing and harvesting of forest tree species, regardless of how the land is zoned or taxed or how any state or local statutes, ordinances, rules or regulations are applied.) (3) Any person may sell or exchange the hide, carcass, or any part thereof, of any legally taken furbearing or unprotected mammal, except that a licensed furtaker, who is not the landowner or an agent of the landowner addressing damage, that traps a beaver on privately owned forestland other than “small forestland” as defined in Senate Bill 1501 (2022) may not sell or exchange the pelt of the beaver. (Pursuant to SB 1501 (2022), “small forestland” means forestland (as defined by ORS 527.620) whose owner owns or holds common ownership interest in less than 5,000 acres of forestland in this state.) (4) All traps and snares, whether set for furbearing or other unprotected mammals, shall be legibly marked or branded with the owner's license (brand) number that has been assigned by the Department; except that unmarked traps or snares may be set for nongame mammals unprotected by law or Department regulations by any person or member of their immediate family upon land of which they are the lawful owner. A landowner is required to register the location of such land with the Department and shall possess each year a free landowner's license before hunting or trapping furbearing mammals. (5) No branded trap or snare may be sold unless accompanied by a uniform bill of sale. (6) Bobcat, raccoon and opossum may be hunted with the aid of an artificial light provided the light is not cast from or attached to a motor vehicle or boat. (7) An artificial light may be used to provide light to aid in the dispatch of animals legally restrained in a trap or snare. (8) Use of dogs is permitted to hunt or pursue bobcat, raccoon, fox, and unprotected mammals. (9) It is unlawful for any person to trap for furbearers, predatory animals or unprotected mammals using: (a) A steel foothold trap with a jaw spread greater than 9 inches. (b) A foothold trap with an inside jaw spread at dog greater than 6” not having a jaw spacing of at least 3/16 of one inch when the trap is sprung (measurement excludes pads on padded jaw traps) and when the trap is placed in a manner that is not capable of drowning a trapped animal. (c) The flesh of any game bird, game fish, game mammal for trap bait. (d) Any killing trap having a jaw spread of 7.5 inches or more in any land set except when authorized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. (e) Any toothed trap, or trap with a protuberance on the facing edge of the jaws that is intended to hold the animal (except pads on padded jaw traps). (f) Possessing the branded traps or snares of another unless in possession of written permission from the person to whom the brand is registered. (g) Sight bait within 15 feet of any foothold trap set for carnivores. (10) Except for persons authorized to enforce the wildlife laws, it is unlawful to disturb or remove the traps or snares of any licensed trapper while they are trapping on public lands or on land where they have permission to trap. (11) All traps or snares set or used for the taking of furbearing or unprotected mammals shall be inspected at least every 48 hours and all trapped animals removed. This regulation does not apply to the taking of predatory animals. (12) Any person setting a trap for predatory animals, as defined in ORS 610.002, must check the trap as follows: (a) For killing traps and snares, at least once every 14 days and remove all animals; (b) For restraining traps and snares, at least once every 48 hours and remove all animals. (13) Any person(s) acting as an agent for a landowner or lawful occupant of land shall have in their possession written authority from the landowner or lawful occupant of the land. Such written authority shall contain at least all of the following: (a) The date of issuance of the authorization; (b) The name, address, telephone number and signature of the person granting the authorization; (c) The name, address and telephone number of the person to whom the authorization is granted; and (d) The expiration date of the authorization, which shall be not later than one year from the date of issuance of the authorization. (14 ) When any furbearer or raw furbearer pelt is transferred to the possession of another person, a written record indicating the name and address of the person from whom the raw pelt was obtained shall accompany such transfer and remain with same so long as preserved in raw pelt form. (15) It is unlawful for any person to damage or destroy any muskrat house at any time except where such muskrat house is an obstruction to a private or public ditch or watercourse. (16) It is unlawful to waste the pelt of any furbearer except when authorized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. (17) It is unlawful for any person to use traps or snares suspended in trees in the Siuslaw National Forest and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest west of Interstate 5.