Chapter 29

29.753 History History: 2013 a. 20.

subch. XI of ch. 29 SUBCHAPTER XI

CAPTIVE ANIMALS

Subch. XI of ch. 29 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. NR 19.01, Wis. adm. code.

29.875 29.875 Disposal of escaped deer or elk.

29.875(1g) (1g) In this section, “deer” means any species of deer.

29.875(1r) (1r) The department may seize and dispose of or may authorize the disposal of any deer that has escaped from land owned by a person registered under s. 95.55 or by a person who is subject to s. 169.04 (5m) if the escaped deer has traveled more than 3 miles from the land or if the licensee or person has not had the deer returned to the land within 24 hours of the discovery of the escape.

29.875(2) (2) Notwithstanding sub. (1r), the department may dispose of the deer immediately if the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection determines that the deer poses a risk to public safety or to the health of other domestic or wild animals.

29.875 History History: 1991 a. 269; 1995 a. 79; 1997 a. 248 s. 631; Stats. 1997 s. 29.875; 2001 a. 56, 109; 2003 a. 179.

subch. XII of ch. 29 SUBCHAPTER XII

WILDLIFE DAMAGE

Subch. XII of ch. 29 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. NR 19.01, Wis. adm. code.

29.885 29.885 Removal of wild animals.

29.885(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

29.885(1)(a) (a) “Damage” means physical harm to forest products; streams; roads; dams; buildings; orchards; apiaries; livestock; and commercial agricultural crops, including Christmas trees and nursery stock. “Damage” includes flooding and culvert blockages caused by a beaver or muskrat.

29.885(1)(c) (c) “Private property holder” means an owner, lessee or occupant of private property.

29.885(1)(d) (d) “Removal activity” means removing or authorizing the removal of a wild animal that is causing damage or that is causing a nuisance or the removal of a structure of a wild animal that is causing damage or that is causing a nuisance.

29.885(1)(e) (e) “Remove” means capture, shoot, set a trap for, relocate, or otherwise destroy or dispose of.

29.885(1)(f) (f) Notwithstanding s. 29.001 (90), “wild animal” means any undomesticated mammal or bird, but does not include farm-raised deer, farm-raised game birds, or wild animals that are subject to regulation under ch. 169.

29.885(2) (2) Department authority. The department may remove or authorize the removal of all of the following:

29.885(2)(a) (a) A wild animal that is causing damage or that is causing a nuisance.

29.885(2)(b) (b) A structure of a wild animal that is causing damage or that is causing a nuisance.

29.885(3) (3) Damage complaints.

29.885(3)(a) (a) Within 48 hours after receipt of a written complaint from a person who owns, leases or occupies property on which a wild animal or a structure of a wild animal is allegedly causing damage, the department shall both investigate the complaint and determine whether or not to authorize removal.

29.885(3)(b) (b) The department may remove or authorize removal of the wild animal or the structure of the wild animal if it finds that the wild animal or the structure is causing damage on the property.

29.885(3)(c) (c) A person who owns, leases or occupies property outside an incorporated municipality on which a wild animal or a structure of a wild animal is allegedly causing damage and who has made a complaint under par. (a), may remove the wild animal or the structure at any time from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset if all of the following conditions apply:

29.885(3)(c)1. 1. The department has failed, within 48 hours after the receipt of the complaint, to investigate the complaint and to determine whether or not to authorize removal.

29.885(3)(c)2. 2. The department has not refused to investigate as permitted under sub. (5) (a).

29.885(3)(c)3. 3. The wild animal is not of an endangered or threatened species under s. 29.604 and is not a migratory bird on the list in 50 CFR 10.13 that is promulgated under 16 USC 701.

29.885(3)(d) (d) A person who owns, leases or occupies property located within an incorporated municipality on which a wild animal or the structure of a wild animal is allegedly causing damage may capture and relocate the wild animal or may relocate its structure if the person has made a complaint under par. (a) and all the conditions under par. (c) 1. to 3. apply.

29.885(4) (4) Nuisance complaints.

29.885(4)(a) (a) Upon the receipt of a complaint from a person who owns, leases or occupies property on which a wild animal or a structure is allegedly causing a nuisance, the department may investigate the complaint.

29.885(4)(b) (b) The department may remove or authorize the removal of the wild animal or the structure of a wild animal if it finds that the wild animal or the structure is causing a nuisance on the property.

29.885(4m) (4m) Hunting allowed. If the department removes or authorizes the removal of a wild animal or the structure of a wild animal under sub. (3) (b), the person who owns, leases or occupies the property on which the damage occurred shall open the property to others for hunting and trapping for one year beginning on the date on which the removal activity started unless hunting is prohibited under this chapter or under any municipal ordinance.

29.885(4r) (4r) Land not required to be open to hunting. The requirements under sub. (4m) do not apply to a person to whom the department grants a shooting permit for deer causing damage that is issued as an abatement measure recommended under s. 29.889 if all of the following apply:

29.885(4r)(a) (a) The permit is the only abatement measure the person receives under s. 29.889 for damage caused by deer.

29.885(4r)(b) (b) The person waives any eligibility to receive a wildlife damage claim payment under s. 29.889 (7) for damage caused by deer.

29.885(5) (5) Abatement.

29.885(5)(a) (a) The department may refuse to investigate under sub. (3) (a) if the person making the complaint refuses to participate in any available wildlife damage abatement program administered under s. 29.889 or refuses to follow reasonable abatement measures recommended by the department or by the county in which the property is located if the county participates in a wildlife damage abatement program.

29.885(5)(b) (b) Before taking action under sub. (3) (b) or (4), the department may require the person making the complaint to participate in any available wildlife damage abatement program administered under s. 29.889 or to follow reasonable abatement measures recommended by the department.

29.885(6) (6) Owner liability for beaver damage. A person who owns, leases or occupies property on which a beaver or a beaver structure is causing damage and who fails or refuses to give consent to the department to remove the beaver or the structure is liable for any damage caused by the beaver or the structure to public property or the property of others.

29.885(7) (7) No duty; immunity from liability.

29.885(7)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (d), no private property holder and no officer, employee or agent of a property holder owes any of the following duties to any person who enters the private property holder’s property solely to engage in a removal activity:

29.885(7)(a)1. 1. A duty to keep the property safe for removal activities.

29.885(7)(a)2. 2. A duty to inspect the property.

29.885(7)(a)3. 3. A duty to give warning of an unsafe condition, use or activity on the property.

29.885(7)(b) (b) Except as provided in par. (d), no private property holder and no officer, employee or agent of a private property holder is liable for any of the following injuries that occur on the private property holder’s property:

29.885(7)(b)1. 1. An injury to a person engaging in a removal activity.

29.885(7)(b)2. 2. An injury caused by a person engaging in a removal activity.

29.885(7)(c) (c) Except as provided in par. (d), nothing in this subsection, s. 101.11 or in the common law attractive nuisance doctrine creates any duty of care or ground of liability toward any person who uses private property holder’s property for a removal activity.

29.885(7)(d) (d) Paragraphs (a) to (c) do not apply if any of the following conditions exist:

29.885(7)(d)1. 1. An injury is caused by the malicious failure of the private property holder or an officer, employee or agent of the private property holder to warn against an unsafe condition on the property, of which the private property holder has knowledge.

29.885(7)(d)2. 2. An injury is caused by a malicious act of a private property holder or of an officer, employee or agent of a private property holder.

29.885(7)(d)3. 3. An injury is sustained by an employee of a private property holder acting within the scope of his or her duties.

29.885 History History: 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39; 1995 a. 79; 1997 a. 27; 1997 a. 248 ss. 637 to 641; Stats. 1997 s. 29.885; 1999 a. 32; 2001 a. 56; 2005 a. 82; 2021 a. 62.

29.885 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. NR 12 and ss. NR 19.03, and 19.75, Wis. adm. code.

29.886 29.886 Management of double-crested cormorants.

29.886(1) (1) In this section:

29.886(1)(a) (a) “U.S. depredation order” means the depredation order for double-crested cormorants to protect public resources that was issued by the U.S. department of interior, fish and wildlife service, in 50 CFR 21.48, to reduce or minimize the wildlife damage caused by double-crested cormorants.

29.886(1)(b) (b) “Wildlife damage” means adverse impacts on fish, including fish hatchery stock, wildlife, plants, and their habitats.

29.886(2) (2) The department shall, in cooperation with federal agencies, administer a program in a manner that complies with the U.S. depredation order to control and manage double-crested cormorants in order to reduce wildlife damage caused by double-crested cormorants.

29.886 History History: 2005 a. 287.

29.887 29.887 Wildlife control in urban communities.

29.887(1) (1) The department shall establish a program to award matching grants to any city, village, or town with a population density of not less than 125 persons per square mile for up to 50 percent of the costs for projects to plan wildlife abatement measures or to engage in wildlife control efforts or both.

29.887(2) (2) A grant awarded under this section may not exceed $5,000.

29.887(3) (3) The department shall promulgate rules establishing criteria for awarding grants under this section.

29.887 History History: 1997 a. 27; 1997 a. 248 s. 643; Stats. 1997 s. 29.887; 2023 a. 50.

29.887 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. NR 12 and s. NR 19.75, Wis. adm. code.

29.888 29.888 Wolf depredation program; wolf damage claims.

29.888(1b) (1b) In this section:

29.888(1b)(a) (a) “Federal endangered list” has the meaning given in s. 29.185 (1b) (a).

29.888(1b)(b) (b) “State endangered list” has the meaning given in s. 29.185 (1b) (b).

29.888(1m) (1m) The department shall administer a wolf depredation program under which payments may be made to persons who apply for reimbursement for death or injury caused by wolves to livestock, to hunting dogs other than those being actively used in the hunting of wolves, and to pets and for management and control activities conducted by the department for the purpose of reducing such damage caused by wolves. The department may make payments for death or injury caused by wolves under this program only if the death or injury occurs during a period of time when the wolf is not listed on the federal endangered list and is not listed on the state endangered list. The department may expend moneys under this program for its management and control activities only during a period of time when the wolf is not listed on the federal endangered list and is not listed on the state endangered list.

29.888(2) (2) The department shall establish maximum amounts that will be paid under sub. (1m) depending on the type of animal that suffered the death or injury. If the department determines that the amount available from the appropriation under s. 20.370 (5) (fv) is insufficient in a given fiscal year for making all of these payments, the department shall make the payments on a prorated basis.

29.888(3) (3) If, after making the payments under sub. (2), there are moneys remaining in the appropriation under s. 20.370 (5) (fv) for a given fiscal year, the department may use all or part of the remaining moneys in the following fiscal year for management and control of the wolf population activities conducted by the department.

29.888(4) (4) If there are any moneys remaining at the end of a given fiscal year after making the payments under sub. (2) and paying for activities authorized under sub. (3), these moneys shall lapse into the conservation fund, notwithstanding s. 20.001 (3) (c).

29.888(5) (5) 

29.888(5)(a) (a) From the sources described in par. (c), the department shall pay damage claims for damage caused by wolves during the period when the wolf is listed on the federal endangered list or on the state endangered list.

29.888(5)(b) (b) The department shall pay damage claims under par. (a) as soon as practicable after determining that the claim is eligible to be paid.

29.888(5)(c) (c) The department shall make the remainder of the payments from the appropriation accounts under s. 20.370 (1) (fb), (fe), and (fs). If the department determines that the amount available under s. 20.370 (1) (fb), (fe), and (fs) is insufficient in a given fiscal year to pay the claims under par. (a), the department may request the joint committee on finance to take action under s. 13.101. The requirement of a finding of emergency under s. 13.101 (3) (a) 1. does not apply to such a request.

29.888 History History: 2011 a. 169; 2013 a. 165 s. 115; 2017 a. 59.

29.889 29.889 Wildlife damage abatement program; wildlife damage claim program.

29.889(1) (1) Definition. In this section, “wildlife damage” means damage caused by any of the following wild animals that are not subject to regulation under ch. 169:

29.889(1)(a) (a) Deer that are not farm-raised deer.

29.889(1)(b) (b) Bear.

29.889(1)(c) (c) Geese.

29.889(1)(d) (d) Turkey.

29.889(1)(e) (e) Sandhill crane if hunting of sandhill cranes is authorized by the department.

29.889(1)(f) (f) Elk, if the department has promulgated a rule that establishes a season for hunting elk.