Is It Legal to Kill Coyotes in Alabama? Licenses, Hours & Penalties

Yes, it is legal to kill coyotes in Alabama. The state classifies them as unprotected wildlife, so there is no closed season and no bag limit.1Outdoor Alabama. Bobcat, Coyote, Feral Swine, and Fox Seasons You still need a valid hunting license in most situations, written permission if you are hunting land you don’t own, and a separate license to hunt at night. Coyotes don’t appear on the state’s protected nongame mammal list either, which is why the rules are as open as they are.2Outdoor Alabama. Nongame Mammals Protected by Alabama Regulations

The License You Need

Alabama residents hunting coyotes buy a Small Game Hunting License for $22.75 a year.3Outdoor Alabama. Hunting Recreational Licenses – Resident Non-residents pay $130.25 annually, $79.35 for a 10-day trip license, or $57.40 for a 3-day trip license.4Outdoor Alabama. Hunting Recreational Licenses – Non-Resident Licenses are sold through the ADCNR website, approved vendors, and probate offices.

Some hunters are exempt from buying a license entirely: Alabama residents under 16, residents 65 or older, resident landowners hunting their own property (along with immediate family), and residents home on military leave with proper identification.5Outdoor Alabama. Who Is Exempt from Purchasing Recreational Licenses None of those exemptions apply at night. Every hunter chasing coyotes after dark has to buy the nighttime license, regardless of age or landowner status.6Outdoor Alabama. License FAQs

Anyone born on or after August 1, 1977 has to complete an approved hunter education course before buying a license. Certifications from other states are accepted, so if you took the course elsewhere, you don’t need to repeat it.7Outdoor Alabama. Hunter Safety Education

Daytime Versus Nighttime Hunting

During daylight hours, coyotes can be hunted every day of the year on private land under a regular hunting license. Alabama’s administrative code sets legal hunting hours as “daylight hours only” for game animals, and coyotes follow the same daytime schedule.8Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code Rule 220-2-.07 – Legal Hunting Hours for Game Animals Protected by Rule or Regulation

Nighttime hunting is a different animal. You need a Nighttime Feral Swine and Coyote Hunting License, which costs $15.90 for residents and $54.15 for non-residents and is valid from September 1 through August 31.9Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Nighttime Feral Swine and Coyote Hunting License Application The night season itself is narrower than the license window. It runs from midnight after the last day of gun deer season in your zone until 30 minutes before sunrise on opening day of archery deer season in that zone.1Outdoor Alabama. Bobcat, Coyote, Feral Swine, and Fox Seasons Because Alabama has multiple deer zones, the exact dates depend on where you hunt. Night hunting is restricted to private or leased land.10Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-235 – Taking, Etc., of Protected Birds or Animals During Nighttime Hours; Nighttime Feral Swine and Coyote Hunting

With that license, you can use artificial lights, night vision, and thermal imaging. Outside the nighttime season, possessing night vision or thermal gear while hunting is illegal, and firearms with attached lights are prohibited unless you hold the nighttime license and are hunting the designated season.11Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code Rule 220-2-.11 – Prohibited Methods and Devices for Hunting

Where You Can Legally Hunt

Almost all coyote hunting in Alabama happens on private land. If it isn’t your land, you need written permission from the landowner or the person controlling the property before you set foot on it with a gun.12Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-241 – Hunting, Trapping, Etc., of Wild Game During Day on Lands of Another Without Permission Landowners can pursue or trap coyotes on their own property without a hunting license, and their immediate family shares that exemption, though the night rule still applies.5Outdoor Alabama. Who Is Exempt from Purchasing Recreational Licenses

Wildlife Management Areas are more restrictive. Coyote hunting on WMAs is allowed only during scheduled area hunts, only with weapons legal for that specific hunt, and only in daylight. Night hunting is not permitted on WMAs at all. You also need a WMA license on top of your regular license, and most WMAs require an area permit or check-in through the Outdoor Alabama app.13Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Wildlife Management Areas of Alabama Regulation 220-2-.55

Legal Weapons, Calls, and Traps

Rifles, shotguns, handguns, and air rifles are all allowed for coyote hunting, and there are no caliber restrictions. Fully automatic firearms are prohibited for hunting any wildlife in Alabama.11Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code Rule 220-2-.11 – Prohibited Methods and Devices for Hunting Suppressors are legal to hunt with as long as you hold the federal tax stamp from the ATF.

Electronic game calls are legal for coyotes. Alabama only prohibits electrically amplified calls for turkey, dove, and waterfowl. Decoys are unrestricted. Poison, explosives, and pitfalls are banned outright for taking any wildlife.14Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-245 – Unlawful Methods of Hunting

Trapping coyotes is legal year-round.15Outdoor Alabama. Trapping in Alabama16Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-59 – License to Capture or Kill Fur-Bearing Animals for Commercial Purposes; Traps17Outdoor Alabama. Fur Catcher Code and Regulations18Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-266 – Checking of Traps; Hanging or Suspending of Bait Over or Within 25 Feet of Steel Trap

Hunter Orange

Coyote hunters don’t get an automatic pass on the blaze orange rule. On private and leased land, during any dates and areas open to gun deer season (including youth deer and the special muzzleloader season), you have to wear an outer garment above the waist with at least 144 square inches of solid hunter orange, or a full-sized hunter orange hat or cap.19Outdoor Alabama. Hunter Orange Requirement in Alabama Exceptions cover hunters in enclosed box stands, on stands 12 feet or more off the ground, or traveling in enclosed vehicles. Camo orange doesn’t count. On WMAs, orange is required for all hunting and trapping regardless of season.

Penalties If You Get It Wrong

The fines for hunting violations in Alabama are heavier than most people expect.

Alabama also participates in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. A license suspension in Alabama can block you from buying a license in other member states, and a suspension in another compact state can block you here.21Outdoor Alabama. Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact If you have a suspension anywhere and plan to hunt across state lines, call that state’s wildlife agency before buying a license.

Selling Pelts

Alabama doesn’t require hunters to report coyotes they kill, and there is no statewide bounty. If you want to sell hides, though, licensing kicks in. A fur catcher shipping their own catch out of state operates under the fur catcher license. Anyone buying, trading, or dealing in raw furs needs a Fur Dealer License; resident fees run from $25 to $100 based on prior-year sales, and non-resident dealers pay $360.22Outdoor Alabama. Fur Dealer License Manual