(1) It is unlawful to possess river otter, cougar, lynx, or bobcat taken in Washington without a department identification seal which has been attached to the raw pelt, on or off the carcass, prior to the pelt sealing deadline.
(2) Any river otter, cougar, or bobcat raw pelt must be presented by the person harvesting the animal, in such a manner that teeth and biological samples can be extracted, to an authorized department employee for sealing.
(3) The raw pelt of a bobcat or river otter must be sealed by an authorized department employee within 20 days after the close of the appropriate hunting or trapping season in which it was killed.
(4) Any person who takes a cougar without the use of dogs must notify the department within 72 hours of kill (excluding legal state holidays) and provide the hunter's name, date and location of kill, and sex of animal. Any person who takes a cougar with the use of dogs must notify the department within 24 hours of kill (excluding legal state holidays) and provide the hunter's name, date and location of kill, and sex of animal. The raw pelt of a cougar must be sealed by an authorized department employee within five days of the notification of kill.
Any person who takes a cougar must present the cougar skull, in such a manner that teeth and biological samples can be extracted, to an authorized department employee at the time of sealing.
(5) It is unlawful to transport or cause the transport out of Washington a raw pelt of river otter, cougar, lynx, or bobcat taken in Washington without a department seal attached to the pelt.
(6) The raw pelt of a river otter, cougar, lynx, or bobcat taken outside Washington and imported into the state must be identified by a tag and/or seal from the state or country of origin and be accompanied by an invoice or declaration specifying the number of pelts in the shipment.
(7) It is unlawful to possess an unlocked, broken, or otherwise open department seal for river otter, cougar, lynx, or bobcat unless the seal wire or band has been cut through and removed from a pelt that has been received and invoiced by a licensed taxidermist or fur dealer for processing or removed from a pelt that has been processed.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. 06-11-032 (Order 06-92), § 232-12-024, filed 5/8/06, effective 6/8/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.040. 99-17-034 (Order 99-118), § 232-12-024, filed 8/11/99, effective 9/11/99; 94-18-059 (Order 94-58), § 232-12-024, filed 8/31/94, effective 10/1/94. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.030, 77.12.040 and 77.32.220. 91-13-063 (Order 498), § 232-12-024, filed 6/17/91, effective 7/18/91; 89-18-015 (Order 404), § 232-12-024, filed 8/28/89, effective 9/28/89. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.030 and 77.12.040. 88-13-091 (Order 312), § 232-12-024, filed 6/20/88. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.040. 81-12-029 (Order 165), § 232-12-024, filed 6/1/81. Formerly WAC 232-12-065.]