Ask a Conservation Officer:

[Lee Borgersen]

          Ask a Conservation Officer:

    Rules for selling coyote, snowshoe hare pelts.

By Matthew S. Miller, Minnesota DNR on Jan 28, 2018


Q: If I shoot a snowshoe hare or a coyote, do I need a furbearer license to sell the pelt?

A: No. A person lawfully entitled to take a fur-bearing animal can sell the raw pelt to a fur dealer without a fur dealer's license or other license.

Coyotes are unprotected mammals, and may be taken in any manner except with artificial lights or motor vehicles, and a license is not required.

Hares and rabbits have a regulated season which requires a small game license for taking. However, a land owner or occupant at any time may take rabbits that are doing damage on their land. Once you lawfully take and possess the furbearer, it can then be sold to a fur dealer.

Matthew S. Miller is a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer with the Lake Superior Marine Unit. Send your questions to outdoors@duluthnews.com.