INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indiana wildlife officials want to begin allowing the trapping of river otters to prevent the animals from becoming a nuisance.
A hearing on the proposal is planned Thursday in Plainfield.
The Indianapolis Star reports that unregulated trapping for the fur trade led the otter to disappear from Indiana by 1942. The Department of Natural Resources began returning otters to Indiana waterways in 1995, and they now are found in 80 percent of the state's counties.
The proposal would limit trappers to two otters a year and require them to report their kills. DNR officials also would set a statewide quota and monitor the population to ensure it thrives.
The proposed trapping season would run from Nov. 15 to March 15.
