Killing nuisance animals in Virginia is legal in many situations, but the rules turn entirely on which species is causing the problem. Coyotes, groundhogs, feral hogs, rats, and a few nonnative birds sit on the state’s designated nuisance list and can be killed on your own land with almost no restrictions. Raccoons, opossums, skunks, foxes, and beavers can be taken during closed season when they are actively damaging your property. Deer, bear, and elk require a kill permit from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). Eagles, hawks, owls, endangered species, and most native migratory birds cannot be killed at all without federal authorization, no matter what they are doing to your crops, livestock, or pets.
Below is what each category actually requires.
Animals You Can Kill Without a Permit
Designated Nuisance Species
The Board of Wildlife Resources has designated a specific list of nuisance species under 4VAC15-20-160.1Virginia Code Commission. 4VAC15-20-160 – Nuisance Species Designated On this list:
- Mammals: coyotes, woodchucks (groundhogs), feral hogs, nutria, house mice, Norway rats, and black rats
- Birds: European starlings, English (house) sparrows, pigeons (rock doves), and other nonnative species covered under the Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 2004
You can kill any of these on your own land, and Virginia even permits shooting them from a stationary vehicle, which is otherwise prohibited for wildlife.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 29.1-521 – Unlawful to Hunt, Trap, Possess, or Transport Wildlife Except as Authorized Animals that feel like a nuisance but are not on this list, such as raccoons and opossums, follow the fur-bearer rules below.
Fur-Bearing Animals Causing Active Damage
Virginia landowners can trap or shoot fur-bearing animals on their own land during closed season when those animals are damaging crops or property, threatening human health or safety, or otherwise causing a nuisance.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 29.1-517 – Trapping and Shooting of Fur-bearing Animals During Closed Season This covers raccoons, opossums, skunks, foxes, and beavers.
The trigger is actual, ongoing damage. A raccoon crossing your yard at night does not qualify. A raccoon tearing up attic insulation, or a beaver flooding your fields, does. Virginia does not publish a dollar threshold, and DWR biologists use discretion in evaluating complaints.
Coyotes
Coyotes get their own treatment because they are both a designated nuisance species and a hunted species. There is a continuous open season on private land with no bag limit.4Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Furbearer Hunting Regulations and Seasons You may hunt them day or night with firearms, archery, muzzleloaders, or dogs. Lights are allowed as long as they are not attached to or cast from a vehicle. Night vision and laser sights are legal on private land. On National Forest lands and DWR-managed lands, coyote hunting is limited to September 1 through March 10 and during spring turkey season.
Animals That Require a Kill Permit
Deer, bear, and elk cause substantial agricultural damage in Virginia, but they are managed game species. Killing one outside hunting season requires a kill permit from DWR. Applications go through DWR’s Wildlife Damage Control Application online or by calling DWR at (804) 367-1000 during business hours.5Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Kill Permit Process
Damage to commercial agricultural crops generally qualifies under Virginia Code 29.1-529.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 29.1-529 – Killing of Deer, Elk, or Bear Causing Damage to Crops or Property Damage to residential plants, ornamental or noncommercial, is a separate category where DWR has more discretion to deny. Even when a residential permit is issued, the holder remains subject to all local ordinances, including firearm-discharge restrictions.
DWR also issues population control permits under 4VAC15-40-240 when biological evidence shows a species is exceeding the carrying capacity of its range, when reduction is needed to manage another species, or when public health and economic factors justify it.7Virginia Code Commission. 4VAC15-40-240 – Animal Population Control These can authorize taking animals beyond normal bag limits, during closed seasons, and with any lawful weapon.
Before applying, consider calling the Wildlife Helpline at 1-855-571-9003 to discuss alternatives. DWR recommends electric fencing around crops and beehives, removing bird feeders that attract bears, securing trash, and closing openings into structures.8Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Help With Human-Wildlife Conflicts Applications that show non-lethal measures have already been tried are more likely to be approved.
Animals You Cannot Kill
Several categories of wildlife are off-limits regardless of the damage they cause, and penalties are severe.
Endangered and Threatened Species
Virginia’s Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to take, transport, possess, or sell any species listed as endangered or threatened in the state, including the northern long-eared bat and red-cockaded woodpecker.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 29.1-564 – Taking, Transportation, Sale, Etc., of Endangered Species Prohibited Lethal control requires explicit authorization from DWR or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-11 – Punishment for Conviction of Misdemeanor
Eagles, Hawks, and Owls
All eagles are protected under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. A first criminal offense carries a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. A second offense doubles the fine to $10,000 and increases maximum imprisonment to two years.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 668 – Bald and Golden Eagles Civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation can apply on top of criminal charges. Hawks and owls have similar protection under state law. Killing one that has been preying on chickens or pets is not an exception.
Migratory Birds
Canada geese, songbirds, and most native birds are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Killing a protected migratory bird without a federal permit is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $15,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 707 – Violations and Penalties Killing one with intent to sell is a felony with up to two years in prison. Federal depredation permits exist for serious agricultural damage from migratory birds, but those come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, not DWR.
The Relocation Ban
This is where most people run afoul of the law. Virginia prohibits trapping and relocating wildlife.13Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Wildlife Among Us – Dealing With Neighborhood Wildlife Furbearers If you trap a raccoon in your attic or a skunk under your deck, you have exactly two legal options: release the animal on-site, or euthanize it. Driving it to a park or rural area and letting it go is illegal, and transporting Virginia wildlife without a DWR permit is a separate violation on top of that.
The reason is disease. Relocating mammals spreads rabies, distemper, parvovirus, and sarcoptic mange into new areas, and concentrated dumping would create hotspots dangerous to wildlife and humans.14Virginia Department of Health. Virginia Guidelines for Rabies Prevention and Control Because most homeowners are not prepared to euthanize a trapped raccoon, and on-site release defeats the purpose, many end up hiring a licensed operator instead.
How You Are Allowed to Kill Them
Virginia regulates method as well as authority.
Firearms are the most common option, but local ordinances in many counties and cities restrict discharge near dwellings or roads. Those local rules apply even when DWR has issued a kill permit for deer or bear on residential property.
Trapping is legal with specific equipment standards. Steel foothold traps set above ground on land cannot have teeth on the jaws and cannot exceed 6.5 inches in maximum inside jaw spread.15Virginia General Assembly. 4VAC15-40-210 – Restricted Use of Certain Steel Foothold Traps Fully submerged body-gripping traps must be checked at least every 72 hours. All steel foothold and body-gripping traps must be tagged with the trapper’s name and address or a DWR-issued ID number, though landowners trapping on their own land are exempt from tagging.
Poisoning wildlife is broadly prohibited, with narrow exceptions for approved rodenticides targeting rats and mice. Using any pesticide or chemical repellent to kill wildlife requires separate certification from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Drowning trapped animals is not a sanctioned method.
Carcass Disposal
You cannot leave a carcass where it falls. Virginia requires prompt burial, cremation, or sanitary disposal of companion animals on death, and the same practical standard applies to nuisance wildlife to avoid scavengers and disease.
Deer carry an added restriction tied to chronic wasting disease. Virginia prohibits transporting whole deer carcasses, or parts containing brain or spinal tissue, out of designated Disease Management Areas.16Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Transporting Carcasses Into, Within, and Out of DMA3 and DMA4 From DMA3 or DMA4, you can move only boned-out meat, quarters with no spinal column or head attached, hides without heads, clean skulls or antlers with no tissue attached, and finished taxidermy. Whole carcasses cannot pass through any non-DMA county. Boundaries shift as surveillance evolves, so check DWR’s current maps before moving any deer remains.
Hiring a Licensed Operator Instead
Virginia licenses Commercial Nuisance Animal Permit (CNAP) holders for professional removal. Operators must complete an approved training program, pass an exam with a minimum 80 percent score, and pay a $75 non-refundable application fee. The permit is valid for three years.17Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Virginia Commercial Nuisance Animal Permit Information Materials Since January 2025, any CNAP holder offering bat management or exclusion must also complete a bat-specific course and exam. Not all operators carry that endorsement, so ask before hiring for a bat problem.
A few things to check when hiring:
- Operators must carry their permit and show it on request.
- A CNAP does not authorize pesticide or chemical use. That requires separate VDACS certification.
- The relocation ban applies to licensed operators too. They must euthanize captured nuisance wildlife.
- DWR recommends operators handling rabies-vector species (raccoons, skunks, foxes) get a pre-exposure rabies vaccination series.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
State and federal penalties can stack.
Under state law, violating any DWR regulation, including killing a nuisance animal without the required permit, is a Class 3 misdemeanor with a fine up to $500 and no jail time.18Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 29.1-505 – Penalty for Violation of Regulations10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-11 – Punishment for Conviction of Misdemeanor Killing an endangered or threatened species under 29.1-564 is a Class 1 misdemeanor with up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 29.1-564 – Taking, Transportation, Sale, Etc., of Endangered Species Prohibited Courts can also suspend hunting and trapping privileges.
Federal penalties are heavier. Killing a bald or golden eagle without authorization brings fines up to $5,000 and one year in prison for a first offense, doubling on a second conviction.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 668 – Bald and Golden Eagles Migratory bird violations carry a fine up to $15,000 and six months in prison, escalating to a felony with intent to sell.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 707 – Violations and Penalties Federal sentencing guidelines can push actual fines well above these base amounts for repeat offenses or serious ecological harm, and firearms, traps, and vehicles used in the violation may be forfeited.