Furbearer or Game?

You pick up a hunting license and head out for raccoon — but then a warden asks whether you have the right license to sell the pelt. Do you? The answer hinges on a legal category most hunters never think about: furbearer. One word changes what season you can hunt, what methods are legal, and what paperwork you need. This lesson unpacks that word before the season starts.

Quick recall

Quick recall from the biology module — raccoon and opossum are both considered what type of animal under SC wildlife management?

Quick recall from the biology module — raccoon and opossum are both considered what type of animal under SC wildlife management?

Strictly game animals, like deer or turkey Furbearers — animals also valued for their pelts Nuisance wildlife, not covered by hunting seasons

Check answer

Two buckets: game animals vs. furbearers

South Carolina wildlife law organizes every hunted species into categories. The category controls seasons, legal methods, bag limits, and licensing tiers. Game animals — deer, turkey, doves — are pursued primarily for meat and sport. Furbearers are species historically valuable for their pelts, and SC manages them under a separate set of rules.

The key distinction: a pure game animal has no commercial fur-sale rules. A furbearer — even if you never intend to sell a pelt — is subject to the trapping statutes, the commercial-license tier, and the possession-limit rules that come with that classification.

Deep dive What other species are SC furbearers?

SC recognizes 13 furbearing species: beaver, bobcat, coyote, gray fox, red fox, mink, muskrat, opossum, otter, raccoon, spotted skunk, striped skunk, and weasel. Coyote has its own special rules (no closed season); bobcat and otter require CITES tags for sale. Raccoon and opossum are the two most commonly hunted in the Piedmont and share a season structure that also classifies them as small game.

The raccoon’s dual classification

Here is where SC law is a little unusual. Raccoon (and opossum) are both furbearers AND small game. That dual label matters:

• As small game: They are subject to a defined hunting season, legal methods include firearms and dogs, and they can be hunted at night — something most pure game animals cannot.
• As furbearers: Their pelts may be sold, but only with a Commercial Fur Harvest License. Hunting them without intending to sell still requires only a basic SC hunting license. The extra license tier kicks in the moment a pelt changes hands for money.

Think of it as two layers. The hunting layer is what most night hunters use. The commercial layer is what a trapper running a line to sell to a fur buyer needs to add on top.

Pure furbearers (beaver, bobcat, otter…) Raccoon + opossum: both furbearer AND small game Pure game animals (deer, turkey, dove…)

Why the classification changes how you hunt

The furbearer/small-game dual classification has three practical consequences that run through this entire track:

1. Night hunting is permitted. Most game animals cannot be hunted after dark in SC. Because raccoon are small game with an explicit night provision, hunting them with lights (under strict conditions) and dogs after sunset is legal.

2. Dogs-only periods exist. A separate season window allows running dogs on raccoon without firearms. Pure game animals do not have an equivalent window. This exists partly for hound training and partly because some hunters prefer the sport of the chase over the harvest.

3. A separate commercial tier exists. The moment you want to sell a pelt you step out of the ordinary hunting-license world and into the commercial furbearer system. That system has its own license, its own paperwork, and its own rules — covered in the Licenses and Fur-Harvest Permit lesson.

Check your understanding

Knowledge check

A hunter bags a raccoon on private land and wants to sell the pelt to a local fur buyer. Which licenses does SC law require?

A hunter bags a raccoon on private land and wants to sell the pelt to a local fur buyer. Which licenses does SC law require?

A basic SC hunting license only A basic hunting license PLUS a Commercial Fur Harvest License A Commercial Fur Harvest License alone, no regular hunting license needed

Check answer

Knowledge check

Which of the following is a consequence of raccoon being classified as SMALL GAME (not just furbearer) in SC?

Which of the following is a consequence of raccoon being classified as SMALL GAME (not just furbearer) in SC?

There is no closed season — raccoon can be taken year-round Night hunting with dogs is permitted under the season rules No hunting license is required to pursue raccoon

Check answer

Take it to the woods

Before the season opens, confirm your legal footing.

Pre-season compliance check

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Reset

• Download or bookmark the current SCDNR hunting guide at dnr.sc.gov/hunting.html — verify raccoon is still classified as both furbearer and small game. Regulations change yearly.
• Confirm you hold a valid SC hunting license covering the raccoon season dates you plan to hunt.
• Decide before the season whether you plan to sell any pelts — if yes, add the Commercial Fur Harvest License to your checklist. Get it before you sell, not after.
• Quiz a hunting partner: what are the two classifications raccoon carry, and what does each one mean for how you hunt?

Sources

• SCDNR Small Game Seasons (eRegulations, current year): https://www.eregulations.com/southcarolina/hunting/small-game-seasons (verify current SCDNR regulations before you hunt — these change yearly)
• SCDNR Trapping and Commercial Fur Harvesting: https://www.eregulations.com/southcarolina/hunting/trapping-commercial-fur-harvesting (verify current SCDNR regulations before you hunt — these change yearly)
• SCDNR General Rules and Regulations: https://www.eregulations.com/southcarolina/hunting/general-rules-regulations
• SC Code of Laws Title 50, Chapter 16 (Furbearing Animals): https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t50c016.php