blake
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NEWS!
Road kill bill on the move
Madison - A proposal to relax the rules on picking up road-killed bears, turkeys, and many small-game species recently passed the Assembly, and it could become a law by spring.
Assembly Bill 548 would allow a motorist who hits and kills a bear or turkey to take the animal after obtaining a free tag from an officer. It would work the same way the car-killed deer law works now, according to Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, who introduced the bill.
"They would still have to get a tag for it before they could transport the carcass," said DNR Bureau of Law Enforcement Policy Officer Tom Van Haren. "We would envision that happening just like it does now for a deer. The person who hits it, or somebody else who comes on scene if the person who hits it doesn't want it, could request a free tag."
In cases where an officer is not available, the motorist may call in for verbal permission to transport the carcass to the nearest office to obtain a tag.
The proposal also would allow a motorist to take possession of many small-game species that have been killed by a vehicle if the hunting or trapping season is open for the species, and if the driver or a passenger has a license for the species. The dead animal then becomes part of the daily bag and possession limit for the person claiming the animal. No special tag or permit would be needed.
"The first priority would go to the person who accidentally hit something," Van Haren said. "If they didn't want it or didn't have the authority to pick it up because they didn't have a license, then any person at the scene could exercise this new authority and keep the animal."
A person who came upon an unclaimed carcass could pick up the animal. He would not have to be present when the actual collision occurred.
Under current law, any species killed by a vehicle, with the exception of deer, must be bought from the DNR.
"All wild animals belong to the state," Van Haren said. "They don't belong to any individual unless that person lawfully obtains that animal. The only way you can lawfully take possession of an animal is by harvesting it during the open season, or getting a tag from the DNR. We don't have the authority to just give away state property."
Bears killed by vehicles were an important reason for the proposed change.
"In northern Wisconsin there are a lot more bears these days," Van Haren said. "The number of car-killed bears is increasing. Up north the wardens may have to travel long distances to get to where bears are killed. The cost for manpower, the travel time, time to issue the tag, sell the animal, fill out paperwork, process the paperwork and send it to Madison probably added up to more than we were getting by selling it. It also seemed a little unfair to some folks that they have to pay for that animal that they hit and it damaged their car."
If approved, the law should not be much of a burden on sheriff's departments. Most bear-vehicle collisions result in significant damage to the vehicle, and law enforcement usually is called to the scene to complete an accident report anyway.
It is not expected that many tags for dead turkeys would be issued.
"We sell very few road-killed turkey tags now," Van Haren said. "There is not a lot of meat on them. If they get hit by a car it is probably badly damaged. This would give somebody the opportunity to pick one up if they just wanted it for the tail fan feathers."
The provision that small-game animals can only be picked up during an open season by a person with a license was included to prevent abuse of the intent of the law.
"It prevents somebody from potentially illegally hunting or poaching during the closed season and trying to claim they found it along the road," Van Haren said. "If the season is open, you won't have somebody with a couple of pheasants in the back of the truck and no hunting license."
The law would not apply to some species like bobcats, fishers, and otters. Protected species like songbirds, owls, hawks, badgers, and wolves would not be included.
"They are special permit species - you have to apply for a permit," Van Haren said. "There are a limited amount of permits each year for those species. They are also high-value species that are legal to sell. We didn't want to create a situation where somebody was catching a bunch of extra otters in their traps and claiming they found the extra ones dead along the road."
It would still be illegal to intentionally run over an animal to obtain the carcass even during an open season.
This post is for informational purposes only.
Road kill bill on the move
Madison - A proposal to relax the rules on picking up road-killed bears, turkeys, and many small-game species recently passed the Assembly, and it could become a law by spring.
Assembly Bill 548 would allow a motorist who hits and kills a bear or turkey to take the animal after obtaining a free tag from an officer. It would work the same way the car-killed deer law works now, according to Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, who introduced the bill.
"They would still have to get a tag for it before they could transport the carcass," said DNR Bureau of Law Enforcement Policy Officer Tom Van Haren. "We would envision that happening just like it does now for a deer. The person who hits it, or somebody else who comes on scene if the person who hits it doesn't want it, could request a free tag."
In cases where an officer is not available, the motorist may call in for verbal permission to transport the carcass to the nearest office to obtain a tag.
The proposal also would allow a motorist to take possession of many small-game species that have been killed by a vehicle if the hunting or trapping season is open for the species, and if the driver or a passenger has a license for the species. The dead animal then becomes part of the daily bag and possession limit for the person claiming the animal. No special tag or permit would be needed.
"The first priority would go to the person who accidentally hit something," Van Haren said. "If they didn't want it or didn't have the authority to pick it up because they didn't have a license, then any person at the scene could exercise this new authority and keep the animal."
A person who came upon an unclaimed carcass could pick up the animal. He would not have to be present when the actual collision occurred.
Under current law, any species killed by a vehicle, with the exception of deer, must be bought from the DNR.
"All wild animals belong to the state," Van Haren said. "They don't belong to any individual unless that person lawfully obtains that animal. The only way you can lawfully take possession of an animal is by harvesting it during the open season, or getting a tag from the DNR. We don't have the authority to just give away state property."
Bears killed by vehicles were an important reason for the proposed change.
"In northern Wisconsin there are a lot more bears these days," Van Haren said. "The number of car-killed bears is increasing. Up north the wardens may have to travel long distances to get to where bears are killed. The cost for manpower, the travel time, time to issue the tag, sell the animal, fill out paperwork, process the paperwork and send it to Madison probably added up to more than we were getting by selling it. It also seemed a little unfair to some folks that they have to pay for that animal that they hit and it damaged their car."
If approved, the law should not be much of a burden on sheriff's departments. Most bear-vehicle collisions result in significant damage to the vehicle, and law enforcement usually is called to the scene to complete an accident report anyway.
It is not expected that many tags for dead turkeys would be issued.
"We sell very few road-killed turkey tags now," Van Haren said. "There is not a lot of meat on them. If they get hit by a car it is probably badly damaged. This would give somebody the opportunity to pick one up if they just wanted it for the tail fan feathers."
The provision that small-game animals can only be picked up during an open season by a person with a license was included to prevent abuse of the intent of the law.
"It prevents somebody from potentially illegally hunting or poaching during the closed season and trying to claim they found it along the road," Van Haren said. "If the season is open, you won't have somebody with a couple of pheasants in the back of the truck and no hunting license."
The law would not apply to some species like bobcats, fishers, and otters. Protected species like songbirds, owls, hawks, badgers, and wolves would not be included.
"They are special permit species - you have to apply for a permit," Van Haren said. "There are a limited amount of permits each year for those species. They are also high-value species that are legal to sell. We didn't want to create a situation where somebody was catching a bunch of extra otters in their traps and claiming they found the extra ones dead along the road."
It would still be illegal to intentionally run over an animal to obtain the carcass even during an open season.
This post is for informational purposes only.
