How to Tag an Animal With the New Oregon Hunting License System

Now that hunting season is right around the corner and will be here before we know it, do you know how to properly tag an animal with the new Oregon hunting license system? It will be a little different than in years past, so you may want to think about how you are going to attach the required information to your harvest. Whether you are electronic tagging (e-tagging) or paper tagging, we will look at the steps required to properly "punch" that tag.

Electronic Tag (E-Tag) Process

If you chose electronic tagging here is a quick run through of how you will need to tag your animal once you have been successful. It is pretty straight forward, but you may want to think about some of the additional items you will need to have in your pack to legally tag your harvest this hunting season.

Once you have the animal on the ground and are ready to tag your harvest, you will need to pull your phone out and open the MyODFW app. You can download the app at the links below:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myodfw/id1442560834

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=oregon.myodfw&hl=en_US

After the app opens, scroll down to the tag you are trying to validate. If the season is open for a particular tag, there will be a blue 'Validate' button available.

Select the 'Validate' button, and provide the information the app asks for. The app will automatically time stamp your validation with the date and time. It will then ask you for the location that the harvest occurred.

Before you get all paranoid about the ODFW having access to your exact GPS location and giving away your "secret" spot there is an option to only select the Wildlife Management Unit (WMU).

However, if you go into the settings and install the WMU data, the app will give you the option of pin pointing your location, instead of selecting a WMU during the validation process.

Once the tag is validated on your phone, the app will give you a confirmation number. This confirmation number and other information will then need to be written, in ink, on something and attached to the animal. The information required is as follows:

1. Name
2. Date of Birth (DOB)
3. ODFW ID Number
4. Harvest Date
5. Confirmation Number

This information can be written on anything, but will need to remain legible for the time that any parts of the animal are preserved. This includes game meat in the freezer as was required in years prior. Whatever you write this information on will need to withstand the elements and be attached to the carcass in plain sight. Also, remember if you take your harvest to taxidermist and have a mount made this tag will need to remain with the mount for the duration it is in your possession.

So, now that we know the e-tagging process, lets take a minute to think about the additional items we might want to have with us to execute the validation process. For starters, we will need to have a pen to write this information down with. Ideally, we will want something weatherproof and durable to write on. Lastly, we will need some method of attaching this information to the animal in plain sight.

This is where the Oregon Hunt-Tag System: E-Tagging Kit comes in. The E-Tagging kit comes with all of these items to help Oregon hunters fulfill the requirements of validating their tags in the field:

(3) Heavy-Duty Self-Laminating Tags with the information required listed

(1) Mini Sharpie Permanent Marker

(3) Heavy-Duty Reversible Zip Ties to attach to antlers

(1) Heavy-Duty Safety Pin to tag animals without antlers

Paper Tagging Process

Now if you chose to paper tag this hunting season, the process will be different yet again. If you have already purchased and/or printed your tags this year, I am sure you have noticed that they are printed on standard full size sheets of paper. Which will surely melt away in the rain if left unprotected. Also, there will be no notching the date on tags anymore. The teaser pics of a notched tag on some horns will now be a thing of the past for Oregon hunters.

First, to tag your animal with a paper tag, you will need to pull out the tag you want to validate from the filing cabinet you now have to carry in your pack. 

You will then need to write a few things down on the tag, so make sure you have a pen with you. The tag will not be valid until it has your signature, harvest date and time, as well as the Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) where harvest occurred.

1. Sign your name
2. Denote date and time
3. Record unit name and number

Once the tag has been properly validated, it will then need to be attached to the harvested animal in plain sight. The tag will need to remain legible for the length of time any parts of that animal are preserved. Since the tags are printed on standard paper, you are going to want to use something to protect and keep it dry.

 Luckily, Hunt-Tag has thought about this process for you and has come up with a solution for paper tagging with the new Oregon hunting license system. This comes with all the items you need to validate your tag, keep it dry, and attach it to the animal you have successfully harvested. Each kit comes with the following components:

(3) Weatherproof Bags to keep your tags dry and legible

(1) Mini Sharpie Permanent Marker

(3) Heavy-Duty Reversible Zip Ties to attach to antlers

(1) Heavy-Duty Safety Pin to tag animals without antlers

Hopefully this information clears up some of the questions about tagging requirements this hunting season with the new Oregon hunting license system. You should now be able to validate your tag with confidence. Hunt-Tag products were created to allow Oregon hunters to enjoy the success of the hunt without worrying about how to properly validate their hunting tags.

For reference here is a snippet out of the regulations regarding Oregon tagging requirements as per: http://www.eregulations.com/oregon/big-game-hunting/general-hunting-regulations/