1997 Wisconsin Act 248

2. “Game" means any wild animal, wild bird or game fish.

(b) No person in this state may transport into or through this state any game, or its carcass, from any other state in violation of any law of the other state.

(c) No person in this state may transport, possess or control in this state any game, or its carcass, that was taken in another state in violation of any restriction on open and closed seasons established under this chapter or of any bag, possession or size limit established under this chapter unless all of the following apply:

1. The game was lawfully taken in and lawfully transported from the other state.

2. The person holds a license issued by the other state that authorized the person to transport, possess or control the game or its carcass.

(1m) Unless prohibited by the laws of an adjoining state, any person who has lawfully killed a deer in this state may take the deer or its carcass into the adjoining state and ship the deer or carcass from any point in the adjoining state to any point in this state.

248,96 Section 96 . 29.047 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is created to read:

29.047 (2) (intro.) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following:

248,97 Section 97 . 29.05 (title) of the statutes is repealed.

248,98 Section 98 . 29.05 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 29.921 (1) and amended to read:

29.921 (1) (title) Warrants, arrests Generally. The department and its wardens may execute and serve warrants and processes issued under any law enumerated in ss. 23.50 (1), 167.31, 346.19, 940.24, 941.20, 948.60, 948.605 and 948.61 in the same manner as any constable may serve and execute the process; and may arrest, with or without a warrant, any person detected in the actual violation, or whom the officer has probable cause to believe is guilty of a violation of any of the laws cited in this subsection, whether the violation is punishable by criminal penalties or civil by forfeiture, and may take the person before any court in the county where the offense was committed and make a proper complaint. For the purpose of enforcing any of the laws cited in this subsection, any such officer may stop and board any boat and stop any automobile, snowmobile or other vehicle, if the officer reasonably suspects there is a violation of those sections.

248,99 Section 99 . 29.05 (1d) of the statutes is renumbered 29.921 (2) and amended to read:

29.921 (2) (title) Warrants, arrests; field Field archaeology. The department and any of its wardens may execute and serve warrants and processes issued for violations of s. 44.47 occurring on the bed of any stream or lake in the same manner as any constable may serve and execute such the process; and may arrest a person, with or without a warrant, who is detected committing such a violation, or whom the warden has probable cause to believe is guilty of a violation of s. 44.47, and may take the person before any court in the county where the violation was committed and make proper complaint. For the purpose of enforcing s. 44.47, any warden may stop and board any boat and stop any automobile, snowmobile or other vehicle, if the warden reasonably suspects that there is a violation of s. 44.47.

248,100 Section 100 . 29.05 (1m) of the statutes is renumbered 29.921 (3) and amended to read:

29.921 (3) (title) Warrants, arrests; harassment Harassment. The department and its wardens may execute and serve warrants and processes issued for violations of s. 947.013 (1m) (b) if the victim of the harassment is intentionally selected because of the victim's race in the same manner as any constable may serve and execute the process; and may arrest, with or without a warrant, any person detected in the actual violation, or whom the warden has probable cause to believe guilty of a violation of s. 947.013 (1m) (b), whether the violation is punishable by criminal penalties or civil by forfeiture and may take the person before any court in the county where the offense was committed and make a proper complaint. For the purpose of enforcing s. 947.013 (1m) (b), any warden may stop and board any boat and stop any automobile, snowmobile or other vehicle, if the warden reasonably suspects there is a violation of s. 947.013 (1m).

248,101 Section 101 . 29.05 (1v) of the statutes is renumbered 29.921 (4) and amended to read:

29.921 (4) (title) Warrants, arrests; tribal Tribal code enforcement. If a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band consents to the enforcement of its conservation code by the department or if a federal court order authorizes or directs such the enforcement, the department and its wardens may execute and serve warrants and processes issued for violations of the tribe's or band's conservation code that occur outside the exterior boundaries of American Indian reservations; and may arrest a person, with or without a warrant, who is detected committing such a violation, or whom the warden has probable cause to believe is guilty of such a violation, and may take the person before the tribal court of appropriate jurisdiction and make proper complaint. For the purpose of enforcing a tribe's or band's conservation code, any warden may stop and board any boat and may stop any automobile, snowmobile or other vehicle, if the warden reasonably suspects there is a violation of such a conservation code.

248,102 Section 102 . 29.05 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 29.921 (5) and amended to read:

29.921 (5) Additional arrest powers. In addition to the arrest powers under sub. (1), a conservation warden who has completed a program of law enforcement training approved by the law enforcement standards board, has been certified as qualified to be a law enforcement officer under s. 165.85 (4) (b) 1. and has complied with any applicable requirements under s. 165.85 (4) (bn) 1. while on duty and in uniform or on duty and upon display of proper credentials may assist another law enforcement agency as defined under s. 165.83 (1) (b) including making an arrest at the request of the agency, may arrest a person pursuant to an arrest warrant concerning the commission of a felony or may arrest a person who has committed a crime in the presence of the warden. If the conservation warden makes an arrest without the presence of another law enforcement agency, the conservation warden shall cause the person arrested to be delivered to the chief of police or sheriff in the jurisdiction where the arrest is made, along with the documents and reports pertaining to the arrest. The conservation warden shall be available as a witness for the state. A conservation warden may not conduct investigations for violations of state law except as authorized in sub. (3) and ss. 23.11 (4), 29.924 (1) and 41.41 (12). A conservation warden acting under the authority of this subsection is considered an employe of the department and is subject to its direction, benefits and legal protection. The authority granted in this section does not apply to county conservation wardens or special conservation wardens.

248,103 Section 103 . 29.05 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 29.924 (1) and amended to read:

29.924 (1) Investigations. Such officers The department and its wardens shall, upon receiving notice or information of the violation of any laws cited in sub. s. 29.921 (1), as soon as possible make a thorough investigation thereof, and cause proceedings to be instituted if the proofs at hand warrant institute proceedings if the evidence warrants it.

248,104 Section 104 . 29.05 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 29.924 (2) and amended to read:

29.924 (2) Driving without headlights. In the performance of their law enforcement duties under this chapter, duly authorized, wardens may operate motor vehicles owned or leased by the department upon a highway, other than an interstate, a state trunk highway or any highway within the limits of any incorporated area, during hours of darkness without lighted headlamps, tail lamps or clearance lamps, contrary to s. 347.06, if the driving will aid in the accomplishment of a lawful arrest for violation of this chapter or rules promulgated under this chapter or in ascertaining whether a violation of this chapter or rules promulgated under this chapter has been or is about to be committed. Any civil action or proceeding brought against any warden operating a motor vehicle under this subsection is subject to ss. 893.82 and 895.46.

248,105 Section 105 . 29.05 (5) of the statutes is renumbered 29.924 (3) and amended to read:

29.924 (3) Opening packages. The department and its wardens may examine and open any package in the possession of a common carrier which they have probable cause to believe contains wild animals in violation of this chapter, or carcasses or parts thereof, or is falsely labeled in violation of this chapter; and every such. Each common carrier, and every its agent, servant, or employe thereof, shall permit any such the officer to examine and open any such the package. Any opened package so opened shall be restored to its original condition.

248,106 Section 106 . 29.05 (6) of the statutes is renumbered 29.924 (4) and amended to read:

29.924 (4) Access to storage places. For purposes of enforcing this chapter, the department and its wardens shall be permitted by the The owner or occupant of any cold storage warehouse or building used for the storage or retention of wild animals, or carcasses or parts thereof, shall permit the department and its wardens to enter and examine said the premises subject to ss. 66.122 and 66.123; and the. The owner or occupant, or the agent, servant, or employe of the owner or occupant, shall deliver to any such the officer any wild animal, or carcass or part thereof, in his or her possession during the closed season therefor, whether taken within or without the state.

248,107 Section 107 . 29.05 (6m) of the statutes is renumbered 29.924 (5) and amended to read:

29.924 (5) Access to private land. For purposes of this chapter, the The department may, after making reasonable efforts to notify the owner or occupant, enter upon private lands to retrieve, or diagnose or otherwise determine if there are dead or diseased wild animals upon those lands, and take actions reasonably necessary to prevent the spread of contagious disease in the wild animals.

248,108 Section 108 . 29.05 (7) of the statutes is renumbered 29.931 (1) and amended to read:

29.931 (1) (title) Seizure and confiscation of game, or game fish wild animals or plants. They The department and its wardens shall seize and confiscate in the name of the state any wild animal, or carcass or part thereof, or plant caught, killed, taken, had in possession or under control, sold or transported in violation of this chapter; and any such the officer may, with or without warrant, open, enter and examine all buildings, camps, vessels or boats in on inland or outlying waters, wagons, automobiles or other vehicles, cars, stages, tents, suit cases, valises, packages, and other receptacles and places where the officer has probable cause to believe that wild animals, carcasses or plants, taken or held in violation of this chapter, are to be found.

Note: This provision adds “plant" to the statute that currently authorizes DNR to seize and confiscate wild animals and carcasses. The statute on seizure and confiscation predates the statutes related to wild plants (endangered and threatened species, wild rice and wild ginseng), and the statute on seizure and confiscation was not amended to allow seizure and confiscation of plants. This appears to have been an omission, which is corrected in this provision.

248,109 Section 109 . 29.05 (8) of the statutes is renumbered 29.931 (2) and amended to read:

29.931 (2) (title) Seizure and confiscation of apparatus, etc. objects; sale of perishable property. (a) The department and its wardens shall seize and hold, subject to the order of the court for the county in which the alleged offense was committed, any apparatus, appliance, equipment, vehicle boat or device, object declared by this chapter to be a public nuisance, or which they have probable cause to believe is being used in violation of this chapter, an administrative rule promulgated under this chapter or s. 167.31, 287.81, 940.24, 941.20, 948.60, 948.605 or 948.61 or is being used in the commission of a crime relating to a submerged cultural resource in violation of s. 44.47. If it is proven that the vehicle, boat or object is a public nuisance or that within 6 months previous to the seizure the apparatus, appliance, equipment, vehicle, boat or device object was used in violation of this chapter or an administrative rule promulgated under this chapter or s. 167.31, 287.81, 940.24, 941.20, 948.60, 948.605 or 948.61 or was used in the commission of a crime relating to a submerged cultural resource in violation of s. 44.47, it shall be confiscated if the court directs in its order for judgment.

Note: The word “or", which is inserted in current s. 29.05 (8) (a), was previously a part of this provision but was deleted, apparently in error, by ch. 365, laws of 1975. The 2nd sentence of this paragraph is amended to make it parallel to the first sentence.

(b) Any perishable property seized by the department or its wardens may be sold at the highest available price, and the proceeds of the sale turned into court to await for disposition of the proceeds as the court directs. A conservation warden or other officers charged with the enforcement of the laws dealing with the conservation of the natural resources of the state may kill a dog found running, injuring, causing injury to, or killing any deer, other than farm-raised deer, or destroying game birds, their eggs or nests, if immediate action is necessary to protect the deer or game birds, their nests or eggs, from injury or death.

Note: The last sentence of par. (b) is recreated as new s. 29.921 (7).

248,110 Section 110 . 29.05 (9) of the statutes is renumbered 29.931 (3).

248,111 Section 111 . 29.05 (10) of the statutes is renumbered 29.944 and amended to read:

29.944 Exemption from liability . Members of the natural resources board, and each warden, in the performance of official duties, shall be are exempt from any and all liability to any person for acts done or permitted or property destroyed by authority of law. In any action brought against any board member or warden involving any official action the district attorney of the county in which the action is commenced shall represent such board member or warden. No taxable costs or attorney fees shall be allowed to either party in said an action against a member of the natural resources board or a warden.

Note: The department of justice represents the state and its employes in lawsuits such as those described in this section.

248,112 Section 112. 29.053 (title) of the statutes is created to read:

29.053 (title) Specific open and closed seasons.

248,113 Section 113 . 29.06 (title) of the statutes is renumbered 29.934 (title) and amended to read:

29.934 (title) Sale of confiscated game and apparatus objects.

248,114 Section 114 . 29.06 (1) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act 35, is renumbered 29.934 (1), and 29.934 (1) (a), (b), (c) 2., (d) and (e), as renumbered, are amended to read:

29.934 (1) (a) All wild animals, or carcasses or parts thereof, plants that are confiscated by the department and all confiscated apparatus, appliances, equipment, vehicles, boats or devices objects shall, if not destroyed as authorized by law, be sold at the highest price obtainable, by the department or its wardens, or by an agent on commission under the written authority and supervision of the department. The net proceeds of all sales under this subsection, after deducting the expense of seizure and sale and any commissions and any amounts owing to holders of security interests under par. (c) or (d), shall be promptly remitted, by the warden by whom or under whose authority and supervision the sales are made, to the department. The remittance shall be accompanied by a complete and certified report of the sales made under this subsection, supported by proper vouchers covering all deductions made for expenses and commissions, and shall be filed with the department.

(b) Of the remittance from the sales of confiscated apparatus, appliances, equipment, vehicles, boats or devices objects, 18% shall be paid into the conservation fund to reimburse it for expenses incurred in seizure and sale, and the remaining 82% shall be paid into the common school fund.

(c) 2. The time of sale of the confiscated motor vehicle shall be within 20 days after judgment of confiscation as provided in s. 29.05 (8) 29.931 (2). The department shall give each secured party discovered in accordance with subd. 1. at least 10 days' notice of the time and place of sale of the motor vehicle.

(d) The provisions of s. 973.075 (1) (b) 1. to 3. and (5) apply to boats and vehicles, other than motor vehicles, under this subsection.

(e) This subsection shall does not apply to a deer killed, or so injured that it must be killed, by a collision with a motor vehicle on a highway. For purposes of this subsection, “deer" does not include farm-raised deer.

248,115 Section 115 . 29.06 (2) and (3) of the statutes are renumbered 29.934 (2) and (3) and amended to read:

29.934 (2) On any sales under this section of wild animals, or carcasses or parts thereof, the warden department or the agent selling them shall issue to each purchaser a certificate, on forms to be prepared and furnished by the department, covering such the sales. The wild animals, or carcasses or parts thereof, so purchased shall be consumed or otherwise disposed of by the purchaser within a period to be set by the department, but shall may not be resold, bartered, or exchanged, in whole or in part, to any other person, except as provided in sub. (3).

(3) Confiscated fish or game sold under this section to the keeper, manager, or steward owner or operator of any a restaurant, club, hotel, or boarding house may be served to the guests thereof; but in such case the customers. The certificate covering the purchase shall be hung in public view in the place where the fish or game is served, and such the fish or game shall at the time of sale be tagged by the warden department or the agent selling it, such. The tag to shall show the date of sale and shall be returned to said warden the department or agent within 5 days thereafter after the sale.

248,116 Section 116 . 29.07 of the statutes is renumbered 29.941 and amended to read:

29.941 (title) Assistance of police law enforcement officers. All sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, coroners, and other police law enforcement officers are deputy conservation wardens, and shall assist the department and its wardens in the enforcement of this chapter whenever notice of a violation thereof is given to either of them by the department or its wardens.

Note: The duties of conservation wardens are not consistent with the duties of coroners.

248,117 Section 117 . 29.08 of the statutes is renumbered 29.043 and amended to read:

29.043 Interstate comity. (1) Whenever any other state confers upon the officers of this state reciprocal powers, any officer of such the other state, who is by the laws of that state authorized or directed to enforce the laws of that state relating to the protection of wild animals, is hereby designated an agent of that state within this state. It shall be lawful for said The officer to may follow any wild animal, or carcass or part thereof unlawfully shipped or taken from the officer's state into this state, and seize and convey the same it back to the officer's state; and so far as concerns any such wild animal, or carcass or part thereof, the. The laws of the state concerning the wild animal or carcass from which the same wild animal or carcass was brought into this state are hereby adopted as the laws of this state. Transportation companies shall deliver to such the officer, upon submission of proper proof of the officer's official capacity, any wild animal, or carcass or part thereof, so demanded or that is seized by the officer. Said The officer may dispose of any such a wild animal, or carcass or part thereof, within this state, in accordance with the laws of the officer's state from which the same was taken or shipped, under the supervision of the department or its wardens. Expenses for such the department's assistance shall be a lien upon such the wild animal or carcass or part thereof, or the proceeds thereof of the sale.

(2) Except as provided in sub. (1), the department or its wardens shall may seize, hold and dispose, according to the laws of this state, of any wild animal, or carcass or part thereof, brought or shipped into or through this state, or attempted to be carried through this state, in violation of the laws of any other state.

(3) The state game warden officers of every other state, and the warden's deputies and all other officers therein charged with the enforcement of enforcing the laws of another state relating to wild animals are hereby designated agents of this state for the taking possession, seizing, holding and disposing, within such the other state, of any wild animal, or carcass or part thereof, protected by the laws of this state.

(4) Whenever and so long as If any other state confers upon the officers of this state reciprocal powers, the department may appoint persons who shall have been appointed game wardens or deputy game wardens of such are charged with enforcing the laws of the other state relating to wild animals to act as and have all the powers of wardens of this state, but without compensation from this state.

248,118 Section 118 . 29.085 of the statutes is renumbered 29.041 and amended to read:

29.041 Department to regulate hunting and fishing in interstate waters. The department may regulate hunting and fishing on and in all interstate boundary waters, and outlying waters specified in s. 29.01 (9) and (11). Any act of the department in so regulating the hunting and fishing on and in such interstate boundary waters and outlying waters shall be valid, all other provisions of the statutes notwithstanding, provided such powers shall be exercised pursuant to and in accordance with ss. 23.09 (2) and 29.174.

Note: The 2nd sentence of current s. 29.085 is superfluous. The DNR is authorized to regulate hunting and fishing on interstate boundary waters and outlying waters and the statement in the 2nd sentence that those regulations are valid serves no purpose. There are no “other provisions" anywhere in the statutes that create doubt or negate the validity of the authority granted in the first sentence. The statement regarding exercising the authority pursuant to ss. 23.09 (2) and 29.174 adds nothing, because the DNR is obligated to comply with those statutes.

248,119 Section 119 . 29.087 (title) of the statutes, as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is renumbered 29.042 (title).

248,120 Section 120 . 29.087 (1) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, section 967n, is renumbered 29.042 (1) and amended to read:

29.042 (1) Beginning on January 1, 1998, the department may not enter into any agreement to make payments to persons holding approvals issued under s. 29.134, 29.135, 29.136, 29.137, 29.165, 29.166,   29.17, 29.33, 29.34, 29.343, 29.344, 29.36, 29.37, 29.38, 29.544, 29.547, 29.573, 29.574, 29.575, 29.578 or 29.585 29.501, 29.503, 29.506, 29.509, 29.512, 29.514, 29.519, 29.523, 29.526, 29.529, 29.531, 29.533, 29.537, 29.607, 29.611, 29.614, 29.865, 29.867, 29.869, 29.871 or 29.877 in exchange for the retirement of the approval or for the temporary or permanent cessation of any activity authorized under the approval.

248,121 Section 121 . 29.087 (2) of the statutes, as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is renumbered 29.042 (2).

248,122 Section 122 . 29.09 (title) of the statutes is repealed.

248,123 Section 123 . 29.09 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 29.024 (1) and amended to read:

29.024 (1) (title) License or other approval Approvals required for hunting, trapping or fishing. Except as specifically provided otherwise by s. 29.155 (1g) and (1h) or another section of in this chapter, no person may hunt any wild animal, or trap any game or in this state, fish for fish in the waters of this state or engage in any of the activities regulated under this chapter unless the appropriate approval is issued to the person. A person shall carry the required approval with him or her at all times while hunting, trapping or fishing or engaged in regulated activities unless otherwise required by another section of this chapter or unless otherwise authorized or required by the department. A person shall exhibit the approval to the department or its wardens on demand.

Note: Current s. 29.09 contains provisions relating to hunting, trapping and fishing licenses and other approvals, duties of county clerks, permits for disabled persons, processing fees, issuing fees, licenses for certain students and members of the armed forces and stamps.

This bill creates new sections of the statutes relating to approvals, forms and duties of county clerks and places the relevant portions of s. 29.09 in the new sections. The bill also makes the provisions relating to approvals and forms applicable to all approvals and forms issued under the chapter, rather than placing a cross-reference to these provisions in each individual license or permit statute as is currently the case.

248,124 Section 124 . 29.09 (1m) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is renumbered 29.024 (2) and amended to read:

29.024 (2) (title) Conditions and restrictions on licenses and other approvals. A hunting, trapping or fishing approval may be issued only to and obtained only by a natural person entitled to the approval. Except as provided under sub. (12) (a) s. 29.194 (1), a resident hunting, trapping or fishing approval may be issued only to a person who presents to the issuing agent or the department definite proof of his or her identity and that he or she is a resident. No more than one of the same series of approval may be issued to the same person for the same hunting or fishing season in any year except as authorized by the department. Except as provided under s. 29.33 (2) (d) 29.519 (2) (d) or by rule, no person may transfer his or her approval or permit the use of any approval by any other person and no person while hunting, trapping or fishing may use or carry any approval issued to another person. Except as authorized by rules promulgated under sub. (3m) (a) 2., no person may obtain a hunting, trapping or fishing approval for another person. No approval authorizing hunting, trapping, fishing or any other activity regulated by this chapter may be issued to any person who is prohibited from obtaining this type of an approval under s. 29.226 or 29.227 (1) (c) this chapter.

248,125 Section 125 . 29.09 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 29.024 (3).

248,126 Section 126 . 29.09 (3) (title) of the statutes is renumbered 29.024 (4) (title) and amended to read:

29.024 (4) (title) Form of license approval.

248,127 Section 127 . 29.09 (3) (a) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is renumbered 29.024 (4) (a) and amended to read:

29.024 (4) (a) Date; expiration. Each license or stamp approval issued under this chapter shall state for what period the license or stamp approval is effective and the date of expiration.

248,128 Section 128 . 29.09 (3) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 29.024 (4) (b) and amended to read:

29.024 (4) (b) Name; description; signature. Each license or permit issued shall state contain the name and residence address of the licensee holder, a description of the licensee holder and such other matter as may be determined information required by the department. Each license or permit shall, if required by the department under sub. (5) (a) 1., bear upon its face a true the signature of the licensee holder and the date of issuance and shall be signed by the issuing agent. All licenses shall be issued in English and in ink. Each stamp shall, if required by the department under sub. (5) (a) 1., bear upon its face the signature of the holder. The department may apply any of the requirements of this subsection to other forms or approvals.

248,129 Section 129 . 29.09 (3) (c) of the statutes is repealed.

Note: Current s. 29.09 (3) (c) provides:“29.09 (3) (c) Wild turkey hunting stamps. Each wild turkey hunting stamp shall bear upon its face a true signature of the person to whom it is issued.".

Note: The provision is repealed since provisions relating to stamps and signatures are combined in new subch. II, ch. 29.

248,130 Section 130 . 29.09 (3m) (title) and (a) of the statutes, as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, are renumbered 29.024 (5) (title) and (a).

248,131 Section 131 . 29.09 (3m) (b) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is renumbered 29.024 (5) (b) and amended to read:

29.024 (5) (b) Blanks. The department shall prepare, procure the printing of and supply all necessary blanks for applications and approvals issued under this chapter and related applications for approvals.