Indiana is accepting comments for a proposal to expand the bobcat season to hunters and increase the statewide quota.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resource Director Alan Morrison gave preliminary approval for the change following “a limited initial harvest that ran smoothly,” in 2025, according to DNR documents. This means the changes will occur this year, but a final rule will need approval before becoming permanent.
The proposed changes would allow hunters to use weapons such as guns and crossbows and would raise the statewide quota from 250 to 400 bobcats. Last year’s season, the first in more than five decades, was only open to trapping.
The DNR held an initial public comment period in May and opened a second in August after receiving numerous comments from Hoosiers. The second comment period culminates with a public hearing August 27 at the Fort Harrison Inn.
During Indiana’s 2025 bobcat trapping season, the “limited initial harvest ran smoothly,” DNR spokesperson Jessica Sparger wrote in an August 11 email to IndyStar. That success opened the door to the new rules.
“In 2026, the goal of proposed updates is to responsibly manage Indiana’s bobcat population and decrease negative interactions with bobcats across the 40 counties with high-quality bobcat habitat, while still maintaining a strong bobcat population in Indiana,” Sparger wrote.
An increased number of vehicle collisions with bobcats plus more people reporting damage to their property from the animals offer evidence the state’s population is increasing, Sparger wrote.
Animal advocates speak out against expanded bobcat season
While state officials say this data justifies raising the yearly quota of bobcats, Samantha Chapman, Indiana State Director with Humane World for Animals, disagrees.
“Our biggest concern still is that Department of Natural Resources has not done an actual count,” Chapman said. “All the data they have is based on sightings, trail cams and volunteers that have said they’ve seen them, and it’s just a lot of anecdotal evidence.”
Raising the limit to 400 bobcats could end up reducing the bobcat numbers so much that the population declines and eventually becomes eliminated, Chapman said.
A DNR chart of kitten survival published prior to the 2025 season supports this fear. An annual harvest of 400 bobcats, according to that chart, would negatively affect populations.
Sparger did not directly address this information in her written responses, but state documents say: “A quota of 400 in the listed counties is designed to reduce the bobcat population to reduce damage for Indiana residents while still maintaining bobcat populations.”
Indiana already has a solution for reducing damage with a permitting program, Chapman said, and evidence does not support increasing the quota.
“If a farmer or a member of the public is having an issue with a bobcat, they can get a permit from DNR to take that bobcat,” Chapman said. “A 60% increase is drastic. It’s a big number and it seems completely unreasonable when there’s not an actual population study or data to justify it.”
Trappers welcome increased quota
Last year trappers filled the statewide quota less than a month into the nearly three-month season. For Nick Erny, a trapper and spokesperson for the Indiana State Trappers Association, the shortened season proves a larger quota is needed.
“I think we’ve got the population to sustain a bigger harvest, but I’m not one of those guys that’s wide open to seeing how many we can kill,” Erny said. “Let’s go slow at this and if we bump it to 400 and we tag out again in 30 days that just tells us that there’s more bobcats than what is believed to be out there.”
Eventually the state will hit a benchmark when it takes longer to reach the limit, Erny said. The only way to determine that point will be to increase the quota and properly manage the population until hunting and trapping are still possible in January.
Adding hunters complicates that benchmark a bit, Erny said. Because the bobcat season coincides with gun season for deer, more hunters will have an opportunity to shoot a cat, potentially reaching the statewide quota even faster.
Moving the start of bobcat season to after the end of gun season for deer would be ideal, Erny said.
“In a perfect world, I would like to see the season start on December 1,” Erny said. “Actual pelts will be more prime, and you’ll have more people that are directly hunting that animal instead of someone hunting by opportunity.”
Allowing bobcat hunting with guns opens up new variables for Dan Boritt, executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation, as cats may be maimed or wounded but not count toward any statewide quota.
“The downside of rifle season, and one that overlaps with deer season, is there is a high probability someone up in a deer stand hunting deer will see a bobcat and take a shot at it,” Boritt said.
State meets August 27 to discuss bobcats
The DNR’s Natural Resources Commission will meet at 2 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Fort Harrison Inn’s Roosevelt Room for a public hearing on the bobcat rule. The address is 5830 N. Post Road, Indianapolis.
Hoosiers can also submit comments online on DNR’s website.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky or Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana mulls allowing bobcat hunting, increasing quota of cats killed
Reporting by Karl Schneider, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Karl Schneider, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
