Chapter 29

29.001(7) (7) “Airgun” means a weapon originally manufactured to expel one or more metal projectiles by the expansion of compressed air.

29.001(9) (9) “All-terrain vehicle” has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (2g).

29.001(12) (12) “Approval” means any type of approval, privilege, or authorization issued or conferred by the department under this chapter including any license, permit, certificate, card, stamp, preference point, or tag. “Approval” does not include a conservation card issued under s. 23.47 (2).

29.001(15) (15) “Attending boat” means an open boat used to transport equipment, crew or catch of a licensed boat, provide assistance in the operation of fishing gear by the licensed boat or provide other assistance in the commercial fishing operations of a boat licensed under s. 29.519.

29.001(16) (16) “Boat” means any device capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.

29.001(17) (17) “Bow,” when used with reference to hunting, means a bow, drawn and held by and through the effort of the person releasing it, but does not include a crossbow.

29.001(18) (18) “Carcass” means the dead body of any wild animal, including any part of the wild animal or the eggs of the wild animal.

29.001(19) (19) “Cervid” means any species of deer or elk that is present in the wild and that is not a farm-raised deer.

29.001(19m) (19m) “Crossbow” means any device using a bow that, once drawn, is held solely by means other than the effort of the person firing it.

29.001(20) (20) “Deer” means white-tailed deer and does not include farm-raised deer.

29.001(21) (21) “Documented boat” means a licensed commercial fishing boat with valid federal documentation under s. 30.51 (2) (c) 2.

29.001(22) (22) “Elk” means elk that is present in the wild and that does not have an ear tag or other mark identifying it as being raised on a farm.

29.001(24) (24) “Farm-raised deer” has the meaning given in s. 95.001 (1) (ag).

29.001(25) (25) “Farm-raised fish” means a fish that is kept on a fish farm for propagation purposes or reared on a fish farm and that has not been introduced, stocked or planted into waters outside a fish farm or that has not escaped from a fish farm.

29.001(25m) (25m) “Farm-raised game bird” has the meaning given in s. 169.01 (12m).

29.001(26) (26) “Fish farm” has the meaning given in s. 95.001 (1) (aj), except that “fish farm” does not include a state or municipal fish hatchery or a private fishing preserve.

29.001(27) (27) “Fishing” includes taking, capturing or killing fish, other than farm-raised fish, or attempting to take, capture or kill fish, other than farm-raised fish. When “fish” is used as a verb, it has the same meaning as “fishing”.

29.001(28) (28) “Food distribution service” means a program that provides food or serves meals directly to individuals with low incomes or to elderly individuals, or that collects and distributes food to persons who provide food or serve meals directly to these individuals.

29.001(29) (29) “Freeze-out pond” means a natural, self-contained body of water in which freezing or anoxic conditions prevent the body of water from naturally sustaining a fish population at least twice every 5 years.

29.001(30) (30) “Fur-bearing animal” includes otter, beaver, mink, muskrat, woodchuck, marten, fisher, skunk, raccoon, fox, weasel, opossum, badger, wolf, coyote, bobcat, cougar, and lynx.

29.001(33) (33) “Game” includes all varieties of wild mammals or birds.

29.001(36) (36) “Game animal” includes deer, moose, elk, bear, rabbit, squirrel, woodchuck, fox, and raccoon.

29.001(39) (39) “Game birds” means birds that are in the wild and includes wild geese, brant, wild ducks, wild swan, rails, coots, gallinules, snipe, woodcock, plovers, sandpipers, ruffed grouse, prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, pheasants, gray partridge, chukar partridge, bobwhite, quail, crows and wild turkey.

29.001(41) (41) “Game fish” includes all varieties of fish except rough fish and minnows.

29.001(41m) (41m) “Great Lakes fish” means lake trout, siscowet, whitefish, chubs, yellow perch, menominee, lake herring, smelt, alewife, and burbot.

29.001(42) (42) “Hunt” or “hunting” includes shooting, shooting at, pursuing, taking, capturing or killing or attempting to capture or kill any wild animal.

29.001(45) (45) “Inland waters” means all waters not classified as outlying waters, including the bays, bayous and sloughs of the Mississippi River bottoms.

29.001(51) (51) “Licensed boat” means a boat, other than an attending boat, included under a commercial fishing license.

29.001(54) (54) “Minnow” includes a sucker not listed as endangered or threatened under s. 29.604 (3), central mudminnow, tadpole madtom, stonecat, banded killifish, blackstripe topminnow, brook silverside, brook stickleback, ninespine stickleback, trout-perch, darter, log perch, sculpin. “Minnow” includes any minnow family cyprinid that is not listed as endangered or threatened under s. 29.604 (3) and that is not a goldfish, grass carp, common carp or rudd. “Minnow” does not include any sucker, darter, sculpin or minnow species that is designated as detrimental under s. 29.424.

29.001(57) (57) “Motor vehicle” means a self-propelled vehicle, including a combination of 2 or more vehicles or an articulated vehicle. “Motor vehicle” includes a snowmobile or an all-terrain vehicle. “Motor vehicle” does not include an aircraft, a vehicle operated exclusively on rails, an electric scooter, or an electric personal assistive mobility device.

29.001(58) (58) “Municipal fish hatchery” means a fish hatchery that is owned or operated by a city, village, town, county, or a federally recognized Indian tribe or band located in this state.

29.001(59) (59) “Muzzle-loading firearm” means a firearm that shoots a projectile loaded exclusively from the muzzle.

29.001(60) (60) “Nongame species” means any species of wild animal that is living in the wild and that is not classified as a game fish, game animal, game bird or fur-bearing animal.

29.001(63) (63) “Outlying waters” means Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, Sawyer’s Harbor and the Fox River from its mouth up to the dam at De Pere.

29.001(64) (64) “Preexisting fish rearing facility” means a body of water that is a fish farm or part of a fish farm and that is not a self-contained body of water but that was licensed as a private fish hatchery, or as part of a private fish hatchery, under s. 29.52, 1995 stats., on January 1, 1998 and that has been continuously used to rear fish since that date.

29.001(65) (65) “Proof,” when used in reference to evidence of an approval, means the original approval document issued by the department or an agent appointed under s. 29.024 (6) (a) or any alternative form of proof designated by rule under s. 23.47 (1).

29.001(66) (66) “Registered boat” means a boat having a valid certificate of number issued under s. 30.51.

29.001(69) (69) “Resident” means a person who has maintained his or her place of permanent abode in this state for a period of 30 days immediately preceding his or her application for an approval. Domiciliary intent is required to establish that a person is maintaining his or her place of permanent abode in this state. Mere ownership of property is not sufficient to establish domiciliary intent. Evidence of domiciliary intent includes, without limitation, the location where the person votes, pays personal income taxes, or obtains a driver’s license or an identification card issued under s. 343.50.

29.001(72) (72) “Resident senior citizen” means a resident who has attained the age of 65 years.

29.001(74) (74) “Rough fish” includes suckers, not listed as endangered or threatened under s. 29.604 (3), common carp, asian carp, goldfish, freshwater drum, burbot, bowfin, garfish, sea lamprey, alewife, gizzard shad, rainbow smelt and mooneye.

29.001(75) (75) “Self-contained body of water” means a body of water that has no inlet from or outlet to a natural body of water, except that it may have pipes or similar conduits to put in or withdraw water that are equipped with barriers that prevent the passage of fish between the body of water and the other waters of the state.

29.001(76) (76) “Self-contained fish rearing facility” means any of the following:

29.001(76)(a) (a) An artificial, self-contained body of water that is a fish farm or part of a fish farm.

29.001(76)(b) (b) A freeze-out pond for which a permit is issued under s. 29.733 (2).

29.001(78) (78) “Snowmobile” has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (58a).

29.001(81) (81) “Sturgeon Bay” means that body of water lying south and east of a line commencing at the most northerly point of section 23, township 28 north, range 25 east, and running in a northeasterly direction to the water’s edge on north line of section 13, same township and range.

29.001(84) (84) “Trapping” includes the taking, or the attempting to take, of any wild animal by means of setting or operating any device that is designed or made to close upon, hold fast, or otherwise capture a wild animal. When “trap” is used as a verb, it has the same meaning as “trapping”.

29.001(87) (87) “Vehicle” means any device for moving persons or property or pulling implements from one place to another on land or rails or in the air.

29.001(90) (90) “Wild animal” means any mammal, bird, fish, or other creature of a wild nature endowed with sensation and the power of voluntary motion.

29.001 History History: 1997 a. 248 ss. 39 to 47, 49 to 75, 84; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 56, 90, 109; 2005 a. 286, 288; 2011 a. 180, 252; 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 89; 2017 a. 64; 2019 a. 11; 2023 a. 114, 115, 116.

subch. II of ch. 29 SUBCHAPTER II

GENERAL FISH AND GAME REGULATION

29.011 29.011 Title to wild animals.

29.011(1) (1) The legal title to, and the custody and protection of, all wild animals within this state is vested in the state for the purposes of regulating the enjoyment, use, disposition, and conservation of these wild animals.

29.011(2) (2) The legal title to a wild animal or carcass, taken or reduced to possession in violation of this chapter, remains in the state. The title to a wild animal or carcass, lawfully acquired, is subject to the condition that upon the violation of this chapter relating to the possession, use, giving, sale, barter or transportation of a wild animal or carcass by the owner, the ownership shall revert, as a result of the violation, to the state.

29.011(3) (3) This section does not apply to farm-raised deer, farm-raised game birds, farm-raised fish, or wild animals that are subject to regulation under ch. 169.

29.011 History History: 1997 a. 248 s. 87; 2001 a. 56.

29.011 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ss. NR 10.20, 10.28, 10.29, 10.30, 10.31, 10.32, 10.33, 10.35, and 10.36, Wis. adm. code.

29.014 29.014 Rule-making for this chapter.

29.014(1) (1) The department shall establish and maintain open and closed seasons for fish and game and any bag limits, size limits, rest days and conditions governing the taking of fish and game that will conserve the fish and game supply and ensure the citizens of this state continued opportunities for good fishing, hunting and trapping.

29.014(1m) (1m) 

29.014(1m)(a) (a) If the department establishes an open season for hunting deer, elk, small game, wild turkey, or bear with a firearm, excluding any season established under s. 29.016 (3), the season shall also be open for hunting that animal with a crossbow and a bow and arrow.

29.014(1m)(b) (b) If the department establishes an open season for hunting deer, elk, small game, wild turkey, or bear with a bow and arrow but not with a firearm, the department shall also establish an open season for hunting the respective game with a crossbow.

29.014(1s) (1s) If the department establishes an open season for hunting or trapping any of the following animals, the department shall end the open season for each on the Sunday nearest January 6:

29.014(1s)(a) (a) Pheasant.

29.014(1s)(b) (b) Gray partridge.

29.014(1s)(c) (c) Fisher.

29.014(1s)(d) (d) Wild turkey, if the open season begins in the fall.

29.014(1s)(e) (e) Deer, if the season is open only to archers.

29.014(1t) (1t) 

29.014(1t)(a) (a) Notwithstanding sub. (1s), if the department determines, based on harvest registration data for an animal in a specific area of the state, that hunters or trappers are likely to take more than the quota set for that animal for the open season in that area, the department may close the season for that animal in that area.

29.014(1t)(b) (b) Notwithstanding sub. (1s), the department may change the end date for an open season for the hunting or trapping of any animal listed in sub. (1s) (a) to (e) in specific areas of the state if the department determines it is necessary to promote the growth or control the population of that animal in that area.

29.014(1u) (1u) 

29.014(1u)(a) (a) If the department establishes an open season for hunting an animal with a firearm, the season shall also be open for hunting that animal with an airgun.

29.014(1u)(b) (b) The department may promulgate rules limiting the types of airguns that may be used to hunt specific species during particular hunting seasons. If the department promulgates rules under this paragraph, the department shall allow the use of airguns and airgun ammunition that are similar to permitted firearms and firearm ammunition with regards to effectiveness for hunting.

29.014(2) (2) 

29.014(2)(b) (b) All of the rules promulgated under this chapter are prima facie reasonable and lawful until found to be otherwise in a final determination by a court.

29.014(2)(c) (c) Any reference to this chapter includes any rules promulgated under this chapter and any reference to any provision of this chapter includes any rules promulgated under that provision.

29.014(3) (3) Any rule of the department is subject to review in the manner provided in ch. 227, except that if the rule affects only the county in which the appellant resides, the appeal shall be to the circuit court of that county.

29.014(4) (4) No person may challenge the validity of a rule promulgated under this chapter in any prosecution of that person for a violation of this chapter or rules promulgated under this chapter unless the person has previously brought a separate action under s. 227.40 seeking a declaratory judgment on the validity of the rule.

29.014 History History: 1997 a. 248 ss. 77 to 79, 383, 397, 399; 2011 a. 252; 2013 a. 61; 2017 a. 63, 298; 2023 a. 115.

29.014 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also chs. NR 10 and 11, Wis. adm. code.

29.014 Annotation The Department of Natural Resources has express authority under sub. (1) to adopt a rule allowing an open hunting season for mourning doves. The legislature has granted broad authority to the department to set open and closed seasons for game under sub. (1). Mourning doves fall within the definition of game applicable to this section, although the doves also fall within the definition of nongame species applicable to s. 29.039. Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes & Doves v. DNR, 2004 WI 40, 270 Wis. 2d 318, 677 N.W.2d 612, 02-1166.

29.016 29.016 Department authority; deer hunting seasons and license restrictions.

29.016(1) (1) The department may not do any of the following:

29.016(1)(a) (a) Require a person who holds a license that authorizes the hunting of deer to take an antlerless deer before the person may take the person’s first antlered deer under that license.

29.016(1)(b) (b) Except as provided in subs. (2) and (3), establish a fall open season for hunting deer with firearms and airguns that begins before the Saturday immediately preceding the 4th Thursday in November.

29.016(2) (2) Subsection (1) (b) does not prohibit the department from promulgating a rule that establishes a fall open season for hunting deer with firearms and airguns that begins before the Saturday immediately preceding the 4th Thursday in November if any of the following applies:

29.016(2)(a) (a) The department limits the open season to hunting deer by any of the following persons: