Bobcats have been a major talking point in Ohio for a number of years now. What trapper doesn’t want to have the opportunity to take this furbearer in their own state? Ohio trappers certainly share this desire. It seems from all the data I’ve seen and sightings relayed that the bobcat population in Ohio is in good shape. Yet, there is still not a season for them.
Why?
A hundred years ago, many trapped and hunted animals were in very low populations or even eliminated in many states. Since then, we have made great strides. Closed seasons, bag limits, elimination of bounties, reintroduction via stockings, and conservation education have all combined to bring back populations of most species.
I live in Pennsylvania about 10 miles from the Ohio border. We had no bobcat or otter seasons while I was growing up. The population of these was just large enough no one could say these animals were extinct in the state. Fisher simply didn’t exist here. They were extinct, or more accurately, extirpated (wiped out) from the state.
After decades of no harvest, bobcats were finally opened here with a short season for those lucky enough to draw from a limited number of tags. After a few years of increased tag numbers and close monitoring, the season was opened to anyone who bought a tag. No drawing was required and anyone could buy a tag. Each year’s take is controlled by the length of the season.
Fisher were introduced into the state in the 1990s. A few years after bobcats were opened, fisher were as well. The first season was six days, five check days. The fisher season has been expanded until it is now three weeks long. And like the cats, anyone can buy a permit.
Finally, otter opened after more than 60 years being closed. This was only a three-day season to start with and in only an extremely small northeastern part of the state. This season is now a week long and over much of the state.
Bobcat, fisher and otter can only be harvested from certain management units. Pennsylvania has 23 management units – based on factors such as habitat. This past 2024-25 trapping season, bobcat were open in 16 of these units, fisher in 15, and otter in 7.
When I was trapping in the 1960s, each trapper was allowed three beaver for the year. That held for years. Now we have a greatly lengthened season. And, the limit? It is currently 125 beavers combined across multiple management units. What a change from the good old days!
Now, let’s spin this all back to Ohio’s bobcat. Along with the great strides states have made managing all our species of wildlife, they have learned to be cautious with opening new seasons and increasing trapping opportunities. This extra caution may sometimes be politically motivated. Of course, politics seems to be an insidious thing that permeates everything. Mainly, though, and this is my personal opinion, new seasons in a state are created very slowly because they need to hit home runs by not going too far.
By this I mean that if a state begins a new season, and it is too lenient or too many tags allowed, the population of that animal can be hit too hard. If this happens, the state will have to backtrack on it the next season. That is a dangerous precedence.
Why?
It will cause distrust in the general public that the state had no idea what they were doing and there will be calls of mismanagement. And secondly, and to me this is a huge one, it gives the antis a loaded gun for any game law change being sought thereafter. The antis will take this one time of the state going too far and then having to back it down as proof that others should be setting the game laws. We certainly don’t want this situation.
Want a bobcat season? One that will remain and grow? Then work with both the OSTA and the ODNR to gather data on the bobcat and to educate the public on the role of bobcats in the ecosystem and why their wise management is important.
Based on the info out there, and seeing the track record of other states that have opened up bobcat trapping in recent years, I am confident that Ohio will get legal bobcat trapping. When, though, is the big question. Be patient. It’ll happen! •