A bill has been proposed that would allow Georgia landowners to hunt raccoons and opossums year round.
The bill passed the state’s House and Senate with minor amendments. It would open hunting and trapping for the two species year-round instead of the current four-month season. The bill allows the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to change the season length and limits on its public management lands if necessary.
State Rep. Trey Rhodes, (R-Greensboro) sponsored the bill. He said more opportunities to hunt the two could benefit other species, such as wild turkeys and upland birds. Raccoons and opossums will eat the eggs of the birds if they find them.
Opponents of the bill included the Sierra Club and the Georgia Wildlife Federation. The latter’s president, Mike Worley, told legislators that hunting both species year-round is unethical.
