Is it legal to trap an opposum

The Madison opossum is a small animal that is usually only slightly larger than a small puppy or a domestic cat. Opossums are frequently found in the Long Island. Technically speaking, there is no need of getting a warrant so as to trap an Opossum. However, in case one is trying to catch an opossum via anything that is not live trap, there will be a need of a special trapping permit. For as long as live traps are used, one does not necessarily need a permit for that. Though, do notice that it is totally against the law to release an opossum that you have caught out it in the open or on any property other than the one on which you caught it. The safest way is to release an opossum in a public zoological park or a bona fide private property. Moreover, without a permit, it is illegal to import an opossum to places such as the Long Island, New York by any entity or a person.



It is highly likely that the laws regarding Wisconsin opossums may vary from place to place. It is also possible that the restrictions regarding opossum based on the legal status may change, So in order to keep yourself out of trouble, it is always advised to get in touch with the local police or people that are in charge in order to find out more.

Often at times, people who trap an Madison opossum on their property, wish to relocate it to a better place that is often situated miles away from the spot where it is caught at. This is usually done so as to let the opossum thrive in an environment that is better for it. However, before doing this, do remember that moving an opossum is deemed as an illegal activity. Moreover, this is not a solution either since in case you live in an area surrounded by the woods, you are likely to encounter more opossums in the future leading you back to where you start from and increasing a chance of running into legal problems.

From a strictly legal point of view though, yes it is totally legal to trap an opossum. However, after trapping one, it is important for you to release it at once on the very property where it is trapped. Usually, if you happen to trap an opossum in a particular area, it is likely that the opossum will never return to that area once it is released. Well, at least not for a long time. It will simply walk away in search of a new place. Moreover, in case it is a female opossum, then it is likely that she’s also nursing baby opossums. In that case, it is not humane to keep it trapped for an extensive period of time or else its litter may die of starvation or fall prey to predators. While releasing an opossum, however, do keep in mind that it may just leave your place and enter your neighbour’s house. So before releasing one, let the trapped opossum face a direction where you want it to escape.

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