Register Today for Wildlife Control Operator Training Offered on April 24

CONTACT:
Patrick Tate: (603) 868-1095
Danielle Beard: (603) 271-2461
February 12, 2024

Concord, NH – The 2024 New Hampshire Wildlife Control Operator (WCO) training class will be offered on Wednesday, April 24, at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Headquarters, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH, from 8:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

There is no charge for this annual one-day class, but pre-registration is required. To register online visit Events | New Hampshire Fish and Game (s3licensing.com).

Participants must arrive by 8:15 a.m.; late arrivals will be denied certification.

This course is presented by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the New Hampshire Trappers Association, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Wildlife Services.

A Wildlife Control Operator (WCO) license is required for anyone planning to provide commercial nuisance wildlife control in New Hampshire, except for licensed trappers, during the regulated trapping seasons. As part of the WCO licensing requirement, you must complete the day-long WCO class administered once a year in Concord and successfully complete a Fish and Game Trapper Education certification course.

The Wildlife Control Operator Program was created in recognition of circumstances where wildlife removal or exclusion must take place outside of the regulated seasons and in response to the increasing public request for professional wildlife nuisance services, which often includes trapping. The WCO training class consists of presentations on wildlife exclusions, capture and handling of wildlife, humane and ethical concerns, relevant New Hampshire state laws and rules, federal rules covering certain species, wildlife diseases, best management practices, and proper trapping techniques. For more information visit www.wildnh.com/wildlife/wco-classes.html.

New Hampshire Fish and Game works to conserve, manage, and protect populations of all furbearing wildlife and the habitats they need for survival. Data reported by Wildlife Control Operators are used by the department to monitor furbearer populations.