Rockingham County fox hunting laws could see changes

If a proposal approved at Thursday’s Hunting Advisory Committee meeting is accepted by commissioners, Rockingham County will see some changes to its current fox hunting law.

The changes include foxes being taken by firearms, bow and arrow and crossbow during any open small game season and by trapping from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28, which is the state-mandated trapping season. It was also proposed that no bag limits be set during the season.

According to laws presented by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, foxes are currently allowed to be taken by rifle, shotgun and bow and arrow from Dec. 1 through Jan. 1 and by trapping from Jan. 2 to Jan. 31. Leghold trap sizes can be no larger than one and one-half inches. The aggregate season bag limit for both weapon and trapping is set at 30.

Barry Joyce, wildlife officer for Rockingham County, said changing the trapping dates for foxes would make it easier on hunters coming from outside the county.

“It’s easier for us on the law enforcement end to have everything come in at the same time and end at the same time in accordance with state laws,” he said. “If somebody traps here from another county, they might not be aware that it’s different rules and regulations here. If the dates do coincide with the state, pretty much anyone in North Carolina can come and hunt here without any issues.”

Committee member Dwayne Thomas said there were around 18 or 19 registered trappers in the county as of last year, which he said was a slightly lower number for a county of this size.

Other trapping concerns addressed by the committee concerned trap sizes and making sure traps were safely set to avoid trapping non-targeted animals. Joyce said trappers should be responsible in setting and checking traps regularly to avoid these types of problems.

“It’s state law that a trapper has to obtain written permission from the landowner,” he said. “It has to be obtained every year, so the landowner will know if he has traps on his property. So if coon, quail or rabbit hunters come on the property, hopefully the landowner will let them know there are traps down. Or the landowner could advise the trapper to remove his traps for a few days so everyone can work together.”

Thomas said it’s a state law that traps have to be checked every 24 hours.

“I think a lot of times when animals get hurt in traps, it’s because they were left for more than 24 hours,” he said. “In my experience, I’ve caught animals that were tugging and jumping pretty hard, and they didn’t even have a cut on them.”

Joyce also shared with the group that tag requirements for foxes are being dropped at a state level by the North Carolina Trapper’s Association.

Vice Chairman Peter Bromley said he will work with Commissioner James Kallam to receive public input on the proposed changes and present the laws to commissioners for their approval at an upcoming meeting.