Trapping Laws in Colorado: What Amendment 14 Allows and Bans
October 14, 2026
Trapping laws in Colorado are among the strictest in the country. Since 1996, state voters have outlawed the traps most people picture when they think of trapping: leghold traps, snares, and instant-kill body-gripping devices.
That does not mean trapping is off the table. Live cage and box traps remain legal for many species, and landowners can use restricted methods under narrow exemptions. This article walks you through what the law allows, what it bans, and how to stay on the right side of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).
Important Note: Colorado’s trapping rules sit in statutes, Wildlife Commission regulations, and Department of Agriculture rules, and they change. Several sources in this article are summaries of those rules. Confirm current details with CPW before you set any trap.
Is Trapping Legal in Colorado
Yes, but only with live traps in most cases. In November 1996, voters passed Amendment 14. According to a CPW staff presentation to the Parks and Wildlife Commission, the amendment outlawed leghold traps, instant-kill body-gripping traps, snares, and poisons for recreational and commercial purposes.
The same presentation lists the exceptions: one 30-day trapping permit per parcel each year for damage to livestock or crops, trapping for human health and safety, and non-lethal trapping for scientific research.
State law backs this up. Colorado statute 33-6-203(1) makes it unlawful to take wildlife with any leghold trap, any instant-kill body-gripping design trap, or by poison or snare, except as otherwise provided. The statute does not ban live traps. CPW’s furbearer regulation lists live traps, limited to cage or box traps, as a legal method of take.
The ban has been challenged. Petitioners told the Parks and Wildlife Commission that current regulations conflict with Amendment 14 and may jeopardize animals such as swift foxes, bobcats, and lynx. The commission denied the request to ban trapping, and CPW continues to let trappers use live traps for numerous furbearing species and kill the animals they catch. That reporting comes from a Grand Junction Daily Sentinel article from 2021, so check CPW for any later changes.
If your goal is removing a nuisance animal rather than trapping for fur, our guide to nuisance wildlife laws in Colorado covers that side in more detail.
Trapping License and Education Requirements in Colorado
If you trap furbearers, you need to be licensed. The CPW director told the commission that furbearer trapping, possession, and sale are strictly regulated, with a license or permit required to take furbearers. I could not confirm current fee amounts or whether Colorado requires a trapper education course from the sources I reviewed, so check CPW’s licensing page before you buy.
Landowners get a different path. If wildlife is damaging crops, real or personal property, or livestock, a landowner or their employee or agent may hunt, trap, or take certain wildlife on lands they own or lease without securing a license, though a permit may be required. That is a depredation rule, not a general trapping license.
The 30-day exemption has its own paperwork. Landowners and others trapping under section 33-6-207 must notify CPW as set out in section 33-6-208. The relevant rules are written into Department of Agriculture regulations at 8 CCR 1201-12.
| Situation | License or Permit Path |
|---|---|
| Trapping furbearers for sport or sale | CPW license or permit required |
| Nuisance species causing damage on your own land | No license for listed species, though a permit may be required |
| Protecting commercial livestock or crops with restricted traps | 30-day trapping notification under C.R.S. 33-6-207 and 33-6-208 |
| Relocating species other than tree squirrels, cottontail rabbits, or raccoons | CPW relocation permit |
Trapping Seasons and Legal Furbearer Species in Colorado
Colorado defines furbearers in regulation. The list includes mink, pine marten, badger, red fox, gray fox, swift fox, striped skunk, western spotted skunk, beaver, muskrat, long-tailed weasel, short-tailed weasel, coyote, bobcat, opossum, ring-tailed cat, and raccoon.
On timing, the rules are more relaxed than many states. Small game (except game birds), game reptiles, and furbearers may be trapped day or night. I did not find fixed opening and closing dates for trapping in the sources I reviewed, so confirm any season dates for a specific species with CPW’s furbearer regulations.
Closed seasons matter in one situation. If wildlife is accidentally captured alive when trapping season is closed or is illegal for that species, you must release it immediately, and you cannot kill it. The only carve-out in that CPW guidance is Canada lynx, which has its own reporting rules.
Bobcats get extra attention. All bobcats or their pelts must be personally presented for inspection and sealed within 30 days after take, with a seal provided by the Division. CPW does not limit the number of animals trappers can catch or track how many are killed each year, except for bobcats, because of their resemblance to lynx.
If you are comparing trapping to shooting, the coyote hunting laws in Colorado article explains the firearm and air gun options.
Legal Trap Types and Restrictions in Colorado
For most people, the legal toolkit is simple: live cage or box traps. Colorado regulations allow live traps for furbearers and require that the animals be immediately released or killed by a legal method. Legal methods of killing a trapped furbearer include rifles, handguns, shotguns, handheld bows and crossbows, and air guns. Air guns must be pre-charged pneumatic and .25 caliber or larger for coyote and bobcat.
Rodents are the main exception. You can use body grip devices and traps for mice and rats without a permit. Body grip devices can also be used for birds, and the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse is excluded.
The restricted devices are available only under the exemptions. An owner or lessee of private property, their employees, or an identified designee may use body grip device traps, cable device traps, enclosed foothold device traps, and foothold traps on the parcel if the conditions in section 33-6-207(1) are met. CPW’s regulations spell out equipment standards for those sets.
Equipment Standards Under the Exemptions
- Pads on padded jaw traps must be kept in good condition to minimize injury to the trapped animal.
- Enclosed foothold traps set on land need a center-mounted anchor and a chain or cable with a double swivel mechanism.
- When anchored by a stake, the chain or cable must be 15 inches or less.
- All snares must have an in-line swivel placed at least one foot from the stake.
- Passive or nonmechanical foot snares are prohibited, but mechanical or spring-powered foot snares are permitted.
Common Mistake: Many people assume any hardware-store trap is fair game. According to our wildlife removal guide, snares, Conibears, or foothold traps used on squirrels, raccoons, or similar wildlife without a special permit are illegal under Amendment 14.
One more trap rule has nothing to do with wildlife. Colorado law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to knowingly set a loaded gun, trap, or device designed to cause an explosion upon being tripped or approached. That covers booby traps, not animal traps.
Trap Check Requirements in Colorado
The baseline rule is daily. All traps and snares must be visually checked at least once every day, with exceptions for traps used under certain statutory exemptions. A trapper group representative also told the commission that CPW’s rules require traps to be checked every 24 hours.
The exceptions apply to the restricted devices used for crop and livestock protection. Lethal cable device traps, body grip devices, and drowning sets used under the exemptions for protection of crops and livestock must be visually checked on site at least once every 7 days. That seven-day window is in Chapter W-17, section 17122.
What happens after you find an animal depends on its condition and species.
- Live animal in a live trap: It cannot be moved from the capture site and must be killed or released on site when you check the trap.
- Dead animal in your trap: You must bring the carcass to a CPW officer or office within 5 days.
- Canada lynx caught unharmed: Release it immediately and report it to CPW within 24 hours.
- Injured lynx: Take it to CPW or a licensed veterinarian and report within 24 hours.
Pro Tip: Write down the date and time of each trap check. If a CPW officer ever questions whether you met the daily rule, a log is your simplest proof.
Where You Can and Can’t Trap in Colorado
Private land comes with a permission rule. It is unlawful to enter privately owned land, or land controlled by the state board of land commissioners, to take wildlife by trapping without first getting permission from the owner or person in possession. The text is in C.R.S. 33-6-116. It is also unlawful to post public lands, not held under an exclusive control lease, as privately owned.
On your own property, the damage exemptions apply. If you farm or ranch, the open range laws in Colorado help explain how livestock and landowner rights interact with wildlife control.
Some secondary sources mention setbacks from roads, trails, and state parks. One site says traps cannot be set within 100 feet of a public road or trail and that trapping is banned in state parks and state wildlife areas. That page also describes foothold traps and snares as generally allowed, which conflicts with Amendment 14 and CPW’s own materials, so treat its setback figures as unverified. Ask CPW or the managing agency for the exact rules on the public land where you plan to trap.
Special zones also exist. The regulations restrict certain trapping in the Canada lynx recovery area or on properties known to be occupied by Canada lynx.
Finally, it is illegal in Colorado for anyone to prevent or interfere with an individual’s ability to participate in hunting and trapping.
Tagging, Reporting and Selling Pelts in Colorado
Wildlife you take remains state property until you legally possess it. A CPW staff presentation notes that furbearers and their parts stay under state control unless handled according to the rules. For bobcats, the requirement is concrete: the animal or pelt must be presented in person for inspection and sealed within 30 days of take.
Reporting is mainly about accidental captures and carcasses. A dead animal in your trap goes to a CPW officer or office within five days, and a lynx must be reported within 24 hours. Failing to deliver a carcass is evidence of illegal possession, while trappers who comply will not be charged with illegal possession.
I did not find specific CPW rules on tagging furbearers other than bobcats, harvest reporting deadlines, or licensed fur dealer requirements. One secondary site claims trappers must report harvests within a specified timeframe, but it gives no detail and is not an official source. Contact CPW before you sell any pelt, since selling wildlife parts without authorization can create separate violations.
| Item | Requirement | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Bobcat or bobcat pelt | In-person inspection and CPW seal | 30 days after take |
| Dead animal found in trap | Deliver carcass to CPW officer or office | 5 days |
| Canada lynx accidentally captured | Report to CPW | 24 hours |
Penalties for Trapping Violations in Colorado
Penalties depend on the violation. For an illegal trap type, the statute makes it unlawful to take wildlife with a leghold trap, instant-kill body-gripping trap, poison, or snare, with penalties set by section 33-6-109 unless the part provides otherwise. CPW’s presentation lists furbearer penalties of $50 for the first animal and $25 for every additional animal.
Merely trying counts too. Anyone who attempts to take wildlife with a leghold trap, instant-kill body-gripping trap, poison, or snare commits a petty offense. The same presentation also references license suspension points tied to the penalty. Fine amounts can change, so confirm the current schedule with CPW or the court.
Several consequences sit outside those fines:
- Trespassing to trap without permission violates C.R.S. 33-6-116.
- Failing to deliver a dead animal within five days can be treated as evidence of illegal possession.
- Setting a booby trap is a Class 1 misdemeanor under C.R.S. 18-12-106.
- CPW investigates lynx captures with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and determines whether the activity was legal and properly reported.
Key Insight: Most trapping problems in Colorado come from using the wrong device. If you stick to cage or box traps, check them daily, and get landowner permission, you avoid the bulk of violations.
Other Colorado animal laws may apply alongside trapping, including feral dog laws in Colorado, roadkill laws in Colorado, and dog leash laws in Colorado, since a pet caught in a trap can lead to separate legal issues. When in doubt, call your local CPW office before you set anything.