Hunting regulations - What’s new for the 2015-16 hunting season

Prince William County Police Department reminds residents that the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries manages hunting and fishing throughout the Commonwealth, including in Prince William County. Below are some things that are new for 2015-2016:

Licenses
• A separate bear license, at a fee of $21 for residents and $151 for non-residents, is needed to hunt bear.

• Certain hunting, trapping and fishing licenses or a hunter-education certification may be carried electronically.

• The bear license and deer/turkey license must still be carried as a paper copy.

Bear
• In order to hunt bears, residents and nonresidents must purchase a bear license in addition to all other applicable licenses and stamps.

• Bear Youth and Apprentice Day is no longer in September. It was moved to the second Saturday and Sunday in October.

• There is a new six-week Bear Hound Training season in Southwest Virginia.

• Southside Bear Hound Training Season has been extended by 1 week.

Deer
• The September Youth and Apprentice deer-hunting day has been extended to a full weekend.

• Minor adjustments were made to early and late muzzle loading, either-sex deer hunting days west of the Blue Ridge.

• Rappahannock County now has an Earn-A-Buck regulation in effect.

• Firearms, either-sex deer hunting days were reduced in 19 management units and increased in three.

• CWD testing is now mandatory countywide in Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren counties during the first two Saturdays of the firearms deer season.

• Effective July 1, 2015, the possession or use of deer scents/lures that contain natural deer urine or other bodily fluids used for the purposes of taking, attempting to take, attracting, or scouting wildlife in Virginia will no longer be legal. 

Turkey
• The fall Youth and Apprentice turkey hunting day has been extended to a full weekend.

• The bag limit for the fall turkey Youth and Apprentice hunting weekend is one turkey (either sex) per youth/apprentice hunter per weekend.

• The spring youth and apprentice turkey hunting day has been extended to a full weekend.

• The bag limit for the spring turkey youth and apprentice hunting weekend is one turkey (bearded birds only) per youth/apprentice hunter per weekend.

Furbearers and Trapping
• The maximum snare height has been raised with certain restrictions for snares set higher than 12” above ground level.

• The season bag limit of 12 bobcats taken by hunting and trapping combined has been removed.

For more information on changes to hunting laws, or on hunting in Virginia generally, go to this website:  http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/