Furbearer Registration

A person taking a bobcat, fisher, marten, otter, or incidental catches must present the animal at a DNR office for registration. Furtakers must register their own take. It is unlawful to register the take of another person. Operations Service Centers will be, and other DNR offices may be, open during normal business hours. Hunters and trappers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to determine availability of DNR personnel or to make arrangements to register animals outside normal working hours on an appointment basis.

The DNR will attach an official seal to the pelt of each animal. This seal replaces the furbearer kill tag that was attached to the hide immediately after harvest (see Furbearer Kill Tags). The location of take, date of harvest and manner of harvest will be recorded when the animal is sealed. The skull will also be collected to determine the sex, age and physical condition of the specimen. Skulls will be retained and will not be returned. Requiring skulls from all species ensures tooth samples are undamaged for aging and adequate material is available for DNA analysis. In addition, the DNR is developing new population estimation techniques for furbearer species. These new techniques require precise sex and age information, which will be obtained from skulls.

Seals may be removed by a licensed taxidermist upon acceptance and recording of the specimen. Otherwise, seals shall not be removed until the pelt is processed or tanned, nor shall a person possess or transport a raw, unsealed hide after the required registration date for each animal. A person may not buy or sell a bobcat, fisher, marten or otter pelt without a DNR seal unless the pelt has been processed or tanned.

Animals should be skinned prior to registration. The pelt and carcass or skull should be brought in to a local DNR office for registration.