Minnesota › Species › Striped Skunk
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Striped Skunk: Minnesota hunting rules for 2026-27
Unprotected in Minnesota: what the law still says about taking striped skunks.
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
No closed season protects striped skunks. What a hunter still has to follow: landowner permission, the 500-foot building rule and the no-lights rule.
The DNR line on striped skunks
- Bag: No limit.
- Dates and methods: Any time.
DNR source page (as of Sep 15, 2026), checked October 28, 2026.
Striped Skunk opening and closing days
The skunk calendar has 1 line; unit and zone links lead to the pages where dates change by area.
| Row | Zone | Take | Begins | Through | Days | Right now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuous | Statewide | No limit | No closed season | Year-round |
Skunk season footnotes
- No license required for residents or nonresidents to take unprotected species, including coyote. On WMAs unprotected animals only Sept. 1-end of February unless hunting a protected species.
From booklet p. 65, checked October 28, 2026.
How the booklet regulates skunk hunting
No license and no closed season for striped skunks, but taking them with artificial lights or from a motor vehicle is still illegal.
No blaze rule is written for striped skunks as such, but anyone afield during an open firearms or muzzleloader deer season wears orange or pink on the cap and above the waist.
You may hunt striped skunks on Sundays like any other day.
booklet shooting hours, blaze rules, validation and registration, checked October 28, 2026.
Weapons and rules for skunk hunting
Legal points for striped skunks
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Duty to render aid | A person who believes a shot injured someone must check and give reasonable help. |
| Hunter harassment | No preventing or disrupting lawful hunting or trapping, including disturbing animals to do so. |
| Artificial lights (shining) | No shining while possessing a weapon; no shining from 2 hours after sunset to sunrise; no shining posted land or fenced agricultural land, residences or building sites from a vehicle. |
| Shooting from vehicles and roads | No taking wild animals with a firearm or bow from a motor vehicle (except disability permit holders); no shooting at big game on or within the right-of-way of improved public roads. |
booklet p. 16, booklet p. 36, booklet p. 38, Minnesota Statutes 97B.055, checked October 28, 2026.
Where striped skunks sit in Minnesota wildlife law
| Group | Species | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Small game (97A.015 subd. 45) | game birds, gray squirrel, fox squirrel, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, jack rabbit, raccoon, lynx, bobcat, short-tailed weasel, long-tailed weasel, wolf, re | No open season on lynx, wolf, cougar or wolverine. |
| Fur-bearing animals (97A.015 subd. 22) | mammals that are protected wild animals, except big game | Seasons for raccoon, foxes, badger, opossum, weasels, bobcat, fisher, pine marten, mink, muskrat, beaver, otter. |
| Unprotected wild animals (97A.015 subd. 53; booklet p. 32) | coyote, plains pocket gopher, porcupine, red/pine squirrel, striped skunk, woodchuck, unprotected birds | May be taken at any time in any manner except with artificial lights or by motor vehicle; no license needed. Booklet adds red squirrel and woodchuck. |
| Predators (97A.015 subd. 37) | wolf, coyote, fox, lynx, bobcat | Predator hunters are exempt from the small game blaze rule. |
From Minnesota Statutes 97A.015 and the DNR booklet, checked October 28, 2026.
Instead of striped skunks, try these
| Species | Season | Where | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raccoon | Hunting (north) | North Furbearer Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Raccoon | Hunting (south) | South Furbearer Zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Raccoon | Trapping (north zone) | North Furbearer Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Raccoon | Trapping (south zone) | South Furbearer Zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Opossum | Hunting (north) | North Furbearer Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Opossum | Hunting (south) | South Furbearer Zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Opossum | Trapping (north zone) | North Furbearer Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Opossum | Trapping (south zone) | South Furbearer Zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
| Coyote | Unprotected | Statewide | All year |
DNR booklet, checked October 28, 2026.
Answers on striped skunks
How many striped skunks per day or season?
Limit: No limit.
Is there a closed season for striped skunks?
Any time. Any time.
Why are striped skunks unprotected?
State law lists striped skunks as unprotected: take them any time, any manner, except with artificial lights or from a motor vehicle.
Do I need blaze orange to hunt striped skunks?
No blaze rule is written for striped skunks as such, but anyone afield during an open firearms or muzzleloader deer season wears orange or pink on the cap and above the waist.
Do WMA rules limit skunk hunting?
Part of the year: Sept. 1 to the end of February on WMAs.
What about permission for striped skunks?
Yes, trespass law covers striped skunks too: permission needed on posted or agricultural land; may not return for a year after being told to leave; no discharging a firearm within 500 ft of an occupied building or livestock on another’s land without written permission.
Is shining legal for striped skunks?
The rule that applies to striped skunks: no shining while possessing a weapon; no shining from 2 hours after sunset to sunrise; no shining posted land or fenced agricultural land, residences or building sites from a vehicle.
May out-of-state hunters take striped skunks?
No license required for residents or nonresidents to take unprotected species, including coyote.
Are Sundays closed for striped skunks?
Every day is legal for striped skunks, Sundays included.
What electronics are legal for striped skunks?
The rule that applies to striped skunks: no drones or radios/cell phones to take big or small game (including recovery); radios allowed for unprotected animals; no electronic or motorized deer decoys; remote callers allowed for crows, furbearers and unprotected animals.
Other photos on this page: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Juliana Chong (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); ZionNPS (CC BY 2.0).