KY Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee advances rules expanding bobcat hunting, including night thermal equipment

Frankfort lawmakers on Tuesday moved ahead with proposed regulations that would expand when and how Kentucky residents can hunt bobcats, including allowing hunting at night with thermal equipment, even as some lawmakers said they were not satisfied with the state’s bobcat population picture and the safeguards built into the rule.

The action took place through the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee, a legislative body with authority to scrutinize agency regulations. Under the subcommittee’s procedures, lawmakers can vote to declare a regulation “deficient” if they disapprove of it or recommend changes.

According to the report, the subcommittee has advanced regulations aimed at broadening bobcat hunting opportunities. The proposed framework would include night hunting using thermal technology, a change that, if finalized, would alter enforcement and field conditions for wildlife officers and hunters across affected counties.

The move drew bipartisan concern from some members of the legislature, the report said. Lawmakers who objected pointed to uncertainty or disagreement about the current status of Kentucky’s bobcat regulations and the data used to set hunting parameters, raising questions about whether the state should expand harvest before resolving population concerns.

Supporters and opponents framed the issue through different lenses, with one side focused on changing existing hunting allowances and the other focused on whether the regulation should be treated as deficient or sent back for revisions. The subcommittee’s role is to provide that check within the rule review system.

The rules’ next steps will depend on how the legislature and the involved agencies respond to the subcommittee’s action. If the process results in a “deficient” designation or required revisions, the regulation would need further adjustment before taking effect. If lawmakers do not reach that outcome, the regulation would proceed on the track set by Kentucky’s administrative rulemaking schedule.

For state wildlife officials, any expansion that includes night thermal hunting would carry practical implications for monitoring and enforcement, including how wildlife officers evaluate compliance during low-light conditions. For hunters, it would change the legal requirements governing seasons, permitted equipment, and where and when bobcat hunting is lawful, subject to whatever limits are ultimately written into the final regulation.