# can you shoot otters?



## jabberwakee06

Seen a few this morning in a deep pool in a lake.  They are big ones too.  I'm just curious if I can shoot one.


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## GAnaturalist

You could a couple of years ago. I am sure it still is. 

Check your DNR gamebook for local season dates. I believe they are classified as a "furbearer", and there might be stipulations depending on where you hunt (what county, zone, etc). and you need a small game licenses...


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## Taporsnap77

why would u want to shoot one, im not judging you but some other kid on here earlier had post pics of shooting squirels with his bow for practice on a live animal. yeah maybe im siding a little animal sensitive here lol but what happend to only takin what u wanna eat. let tha little fellers live unless ur gonna eat otter stew imo.


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## SSGN_Doc

Fur from otters is nice for some projects.  You could eat the meat, but I'm not sure you'd want to.  Furbearer season doesn't start til December.  Trapping or hunting is allowed.  Body gripper traps are better for saving the hide and kill pretty swiftly.

I didn't eat the beaver that I shot with my bow.  But I did make use of it's hide.  Beavers are justifiable for killing in my opinion without eating them based on the damage they do to trees and the flooding they can cause on property.  I'm for controlling other animal populations I wouldn't eat also, such as bobcat and coyote.
Back where I grew up I got invited to shoot ground squirrels all I wanted on ranches, so that livestock didn't break their legs in the holes.  

It's not always about a meal.


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## Bass Buster

*I agree with you*

The rule I grew up with was if you shoot it you eat it.


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## Coastie

Several things, while an Otter is in fact a furbearer, I don't believe they are included in the furbearers that may be 'Hunted', they may be trapped but I don't think that shooting them would be legal. You can easily check this by calling your regional DNR law enforcement section office listed in the front of the regulation book. Those furbearers normally considered to be 'shootable' would be Raccoons, Foxes, Bobcats, and Oppossums the rest would generally fall under trapping guidelines. Again, I may well be wrong in this, but that is how I read the regulations. Otters from here in the southeast should bring about $30.00 for a good quality pelt this year but one with a bullet hole anywhere in its body would bring a lot less and might well be insalable so if you want an Otter, best use a trap. Remember too that Otters (and Bobcats)  must be tagged before they can be sold so be careful of what you do.


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## jcinpc

Bass Buster said:


> The rule I grew up with was if you shoot it you eat it.



thats how I found out that Meadowlarks are real tasty


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## oogachaka

Yes.
Aim, pull trigger.
Did you mean to ask, "Can you legally shoot otters?"


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## GAnaturalist

Coastie said:


> Several things, while an Otter is in fact a furbearer, I don't believe they are included in the furbearers that may be 'Hunted', they may be trapped but I don't think that shooting them would be legal. You can easily check this by calling your regional DNR law enforcement section office listed in the front of the regulation book. Those furbearers normally considered to be 'shootable' would be Raccoons, Foxes, Bobcats, and Oppossums the rest would generally fall under trapping guidelines. Again, I may well be wrong in this, but that is how I read the regulations. Otters from here in the southeast should bring about $30.00 for a good quality pelt this year but one with a bullet hole anywhere in its body would bring a lot less and might well be insalable so if you want an Otter, best use a trap. Remember too that Otters (and Bobcats)  must be tagged before they can be sold so be careful of what you do.



Yep, I think your right. 

According to what I read, you can not shoot otters, only trap them. 
I trapped, and hunted them, when I was young. We use a steel cable weighted down to the bottom of the river, a good size leg hold could slide down the cable, but not up. The leg hold was placed near/on a mud slide, when the otter stepped into the leg hold, they jump into the water and dive, but can not get back up, and they drown. Otherwise they will get out of the leg hold. 

Now, I just take pictures of them....


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## olcowman

Taporsnap77 said:


> why would u want to shoot one, im not judging you but some other kid on here earlier had post pics of shooting squirels with his bow for practice on a live animal. yeah maybe im siding a little animal sensitive here lol but what happend to only takin what u wanna eat. let tha little fellers live unless ur gonna eat otter stew imo.



This has a simple answer... there are lots of folks nowadays claiming to be hunters but less and less of them are sportsmen. Many of us were raised to respect the game we pursued and to only take what we needed or what was necessary for optimum management practices. It seems for many that it is now just about killing something.  They sit on a deer stand just waiting to shoot whatever happens to walk by without regard to the consequences or value of such a practice. 

In the case of yotes and bobcats this sort of wanton killing is justified as protecting everything from the state's deer herd, the neighbor's livestock, even kids playing in the front yard. With the exception of maybe a very few areas where an isolated, unbalanced predator/prey relaionship has evolved (usually the result of man's influence more times than not) this is one of them 'myths' that has gained popularity with those that do not possess the mental capacity to rationalize that history and science neither support their idealology or those among us who just don't care. 

The overexposure, thru various media outlets and game consoles, of violence, blood and gore, killing, etc. has desensitized an entire generation of young adult hunters who really do not understand the depth and finality of taking a life from a fellow creature. Many it would seem, definately lack the sort of role models and authority figures who by example, instilled that sense of values which defines many of us older outdoor enthusiasts as sportsmen. The squirrel killer you mentioned and this individual here with a desire to kill the otter for no reason whatsoever other than some sort of perverse pleasure that one would somehow derive from such a thought less  and careless act... these are the one's that will finally cost us all our hunting heritages and our right to pursue our passions. It is really a sad reflection on society in general when one considers the rate at which this attitude and idealogy has spread. It is getting to the point where I am sometimes ashamed for people to know that I am a hunter as we are all guilty by association and by not firmly criticizing and publically denouncing such behaviour we are in fact silently supporting it. 

So Jabberwakee why do you want to kill an otter to start with? Unless you require an otter hide containing a bullet hole in it for some sort of project you are involved in or you were raised on otter meat and been craving some plumb awful-like lately... the answer is no. No i wouldn't shoot one, legal or not, of course I would be far to ashamed to publically make such as inquirey to begin with. What do you expect to gain from this? Also remember that these animals belong to all of us, resources meant to be shared by all of us.




jcinpc said:


> thats how I found out that Meadowlarks are real tasty



Yep and i can guarantee you that a robin tastes just like a dove and most are in better flesh conditioning than those small wild birds that we sit  under the sweltering august sun hoping to procure enough for our dinner or a few for the grill!


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## Toxic

they will clean out a catfish pond, and leave the bream for you


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## Coastie

Toxic said:


> they will clean out a catfish pond, and leave the bream for you



Actually they will take the Bream too given time and there is a legal solution to that. If you have a catfish pond that is being hit by Otters, you can get a predation permit to trap them. Call the DNR Game Management section in your region and make a report. They will send a Technician to your home/pond to make an assessment and if the evidence supports your claim you will be issued a permit to trap/remove them by any legal means by either yourself or designated agent.


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## Michael

Otters are so good at catching fish. They can and will whip out a small pond in a hurry. After they fill up, they continue catching fish for fun. They simply bite off the tails and throw them on the bank.


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## Nicodemus

I trapped a good many and sold the fur, growin` up. I wouldn`t shoot one  just to be shootin` though. As stated, if you want or need a fur, you would be better off to trap or snare one. Wait for the season to come in, and fur is prime.

There are a lot of critters out there you can eat, some conventional fare, some not, such as diller, bobcat, songbirds, such as that. As for an otter, I would starve first, before I attempted to cook and eat one. Anybody who has ever skinned one will know what I`m talkin` about.


Any of you fellers that promote eatin` what you kill, ever run a trapline, or get rid of varmints tearin` up your garden?


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## SSGN_Doc

Nicodemus said:


> Any of you fellers that promote eatin` what you kill, ever run a trapline, or get rid of varmints tearin` up your garden?



Nic, 

That was more the point I was trying to make.  Rereading my post I feel some folks may think I support needless killing of critters.  I support using what you kill if you can.  I wouldn't eat otter or beaver.  After skinning a beaver I can smell their castor at their dams and slides before I get to them.

I wonder how many of the "eat what you kill" folks use all the available parts of a deer.  Do they throw away a hide?  Do they harvest and dry the sinew of the leg tendons and back straps?  Do they use antlers for tool handles, or simply hang them uselessly on a wall?

I was sickened by the sight of the gut pit on base when I saw deer carcasses in the pit with rotting hide, hind quarters left to the buzzards, and really only antlers and back strap harvested.  It's a lot of meat and useful material gone to the ants, maggots and buzzards.


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## womsterr

Bass Buster said:


> The rule I grew up with was if you shoot it you eat it.



this


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## womsterr

Nicodemus said:


> Any of you fellers that promote eatin` what you kill, ever run a trapline, or get rid of varmints tearin` up your garden?



Didn't see where the OP described this as a problem. Just "I done seen 'em - can I blast emmmm"


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## womsterr

I did see a Bizarre Foods where they ate beaver and claimed it was excellent. I remember them being real musty from see my dad's trap line as a kid...


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## Nicodemus

SSGN_Doc said:


> Fur from otters is nice for some projects.  You could eat the meat, but I'm not sure you'd want to.  Furbearer season doesn't start til December.  Trapping or hunting is allowed.  Body gripper traps are better for saving the hide and kill pretty swiftly.
> 
> I didn't eat the beaver that I shot with my bow.  But I did make use of it's hide.  Beavers are justifiable for killing in my opinion without eating them based on the damage they do to trees and the flooding they can cause on property.  I'm for controlling other animal populations I wouldn't eat also, such as bobcat and coyote.
> Back where I grew up I got invited to shoot ground squirrels all I wanted on ranches, so that livestock didn't break their legs in the holes.
> 
> It's not always about a meal.





SSGN_Doc said:


> Nic,
> 
> That was more the point I was trying to make.  Rereading my post I feel some folks may think I support needless killing of critters.  I support using what you kill if you can.  I wouldn't eat otter or beaver.  After skinning a beaver I can smell their castor at their dams and slides before I get to them.
> 
> I wonder how many of the "eat what you kill" folks use all the available parts of a deer.  Do they throw away a hide?  Do they harvest and dry the sinew of the leg tendons and back straps?  Do they use antlers for tool handles, or simply hang them uselessly on a wall?
> 
> I was sickened by the sight of the gut pit on base when I saw deer carcasses in the pit with rotting hide, hind quarters left to the buzzards, and really only antlers and back strap harvested.  It's a lot of meat and useful material gone to the ants, maggots and buzzards.





Stop in at my camp anytime, and have a cup of coffee, or a drink.


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## hoghunter102

if no one knows.


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## Coastie

According to a biologist I know the only meat he would not voluntarily eat again is Red Fox. Beaver is quite good if you are a bit careful with the skinning and get them out of your traps early in the day, Otter should be fine, but those that I have caught did not get eaten but the fur was taken.


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## Throwback

no. the only legal way to kill an otter is to trap it. unless you kill it to protect your property. 

here is the law for proof. 



> 27-3-64.  Killing or injuring mink or otter with firearm; possession or sale of mink or otter, or pelt thereof, killed by firearm
> 
> 
> It shall be unlawful to use any kind of firearm to kill or injure mink or otter or to possess or sell any mink or otter, or the pelt thereof, which was killed by any kind of firearm, provided that nothing in this Code section shall prevent a person from dispatching a mink or otter found in a trap or from killing any mink or otter while it is destroying or damaging, or about to destroy or damage, the person's crops, domestic fowl, or other personal property.


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## shakey gizzard

Nicodemus said:


> I trapped a good many and sold the fur, growin` up. I wouldn`t shoot one  just to be shootin` though. As stated, if you want or need a fur, you would be better off to trap or snare one. Wait for the season to come in, and fur is prime.
> 
> There are a lot of critters out there you can eat, some conventional fare, some not, such as diller, bobcat, songbirds, such as that. As for an otter, I would starve first, before I attempted to cook and eat one. Anybody who has ever skinned one will know what I`m talkin` about.
> 
> Any of you fellers that promote eatin` what you kill, ever run a trapline, or get rid of varmints tearin` up your garden?



I hear blackend panther tastes similar!


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## Nicodemus

shakey gizzard said:


> I hear blackend panther tastes similar!





Nah, panther is fine-grained, mild, lean, and similar to veal, when cooked right.


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## NCHillbilly

SSGN_Doc said:


> Nic,
> 
> That was more the point I was trying to make.  Rereading my post I feel some folks may think I support needless killing of critters.  I support using what you kill if you can.  I wouldn't eat otter or beaver.  After skinning a beaver I can smell their castor at their dams and slides before I get to them.
> 
> I wonder how many of the "eat what you kill" folks use all the available parts of a deer.  Do they throw away a hide?  Do they harvest and dry the sinew of the leg tendons and back straps?  Do they use antlers for tool handles, or simply hang them uselessly on a wall?
> 
> I was sickened by the sight of the gut pit on base when I saw deer carcasses in the pit with rotting hide, hind quarters left to the buzzards, and really only antlers and back strap harvested.  It's a lot of meat and useful material gone to the ants, maggots and buzzards.



Bingo. Although nothing really goes to waste in nature (something will always benefit from it,) I try to use everything I can off an animal. With deer, that includes picking the carcass down until it looks like the buzzards have been licking the bones. And then I usually save and use the canon bones, jawbones, hoof phalanges, and such. Antlers usually get sawed up into stuff. Hides are braintanned. Sinews are stripped out, cleaned, dried, and used. Hide and sinew scraps make hide glue. I'm amazed how many people won't even take the time to take the neck meat and tenderloins off a deer. I'm not for willfully killing stuff just to be killing, but I'd kill an otter if I needed an otter hide, otherwise I'll just watch 'em. Same with snakes or any other critter.


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## olcowman

Nicodemus said:


> Nah, panther is fine-grained, mild, lean, and similar to veal, when cooked right.



That's right... you got to par-boil em' awhile and my Pap would never shoot one less the signs was in the knees.


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## NCHillbilly

You need a waxing moon, too-or the meat will just shrink up and all turn to grease.


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## Resica

Coastie said:


> According to a biologist I know the only meat he would not voluntarily eat again is Red Fox. Beaver is quite good if you are a bit careful with the skinning and get them out of your traps early in the day, Otter should be fine, but those that I have caught did not get eaten but the fur was taken.



I can second that opinion!


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## J-Rod

if you shoot it. eat it.


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## Georgia Hard Hunter

We need more info, I don't support killing any animal for the sake of killing it, however if a fox gets in the chicken house it gets shot. If this Otter is reeking havic on a pond or trout stream he needs to die.


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## nmurph

how many of you kill every poisonous snake you encounter?

meadowlark, the south ga quail of kids with BB guns!!


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## wmahunter

Throwback said:


> here is the law for proof.
> 
> 27-3-64. Killing or injuring mink or otter with firearm; possession or sale of mink or otter, or pelt thereof, killed by firearm
> 
> 
> It shall be unlawful to use any kind of firearm to kill or injure mink or otter or to possess or sell any mink or otter, or the pelt thereof, which was killed by any kind of firearm, provided that nothing in this Code section shall prevent a person from dispatching a mink or otter found in a trap or from killing any mink or otter while it is destroying or damaging, or about to destroy or damage, the person's crops, domestic fowl, or other personal property.



Pretty hard to know what he is "about to destroy or damage" isn't it?  Does this mean in the next 30 seconds? day? month? lifetime?

I think the same rule applies to shooting crows out of season and as far as I know EVERY CROW is about to damage some crop at any given time. 

Leaves an awful lot to interpretation and I am not real fond of laws like that.


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## Throwback

whole lots of laws are like that. Lawyers write laws, and they do it on purpose, IMO. 


T


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## oaktree4444

I reckon you can if you can hit them but you not suppose to to shoot at water


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## HALOJmpr

Did ya ever get your otter?  By trap I mean in GA   I shot one here in FL this season but we're allowed to.  Man I can tell you this and Nic will probably chime in .... they are a pain to skin and the musky smell will probably keep you from wanting to eat them.  I wanted the hide for bow silencers for bows I'm making and the rest is going to hang with a dead duck mount I'm working on!


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## Nicodemus

HALOJmpr said:


> Did ya ever get your otter?  By trap I mean in GA   I shot one here in FL this season but we're allowed to.  Man I can tell you this and Nic will probably chime in .... they are a pain to skin and the musky smell will probably keep you from wanting to eat them.  I wanted the hide for bow silencers for bows I'm making and the rest is going to hang with a dead duck mount I'm working on!



Otters a hidebound, and take a little longer to skin right, but they are well worth the effort. A prime otter makes a fine fur.

As for eatin` the meat from one. I`d rather just starve.


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