Title 7, Conservation

§ 569. Licensee’s duties to cooperate with and assist Department; records; marking or tagging game. All activities pursuant to a license under this subchapter shall be carried on in cooperation with the Department, and, to the extent practicable, the licensee shall assist the Dep…

§ 570. Dogs; training and field trials on preserve. Dogs may be trained and field trials conducted, when properly licensed, upon restricted preserves on any day, including Sundays, except during the months of March through August, inclusive.Code 1935, § 2811A; 47 Del. Laws, c. 29…

§ 571. Game laws on restricted preserves; violations and penalties; arrest by owners. All activities conducted pursuant to this subchapter shall be subject to the game laws and regulations of this State, except as the same may be in conflict with this chapter. Persons who trespas…

§ 572. Sunday operations on commercial shooting preserves; definition. (a) Those entities licensed under this subchapter which operate as commercial game preserves may operate in accordance with this subchapter on any day, including Sundays, subject to the seasonal limitations es…

§ 601. Importation of endangered species or hides, parts or articles made therefrom. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the importation, transportation, possession or sale of any endangered species of fish or wildlife, or hides or other parts thereof, or the sale …

§ 602. Sale of skins, bodies or animals of certain species prohibited. No part of the skin or body, whether raw or manufactured, of the following species of wild animals or the animal itself may be sold or offered for sale by any individual, firm, corporation, association or part…

§ 603. Enforcement. Any officer or agent authorized by the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control or any officer or agent authorized by the Director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, or any police officer of the State, or any police officer…

§ 604. Permits for importation of certain fish or wildlife. The Director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife may permit, under such terms and conditions as he or she may prescribe, the importation of any species or subspecies of fish or wildlife listed in this chapter for zoolog…

§ 605. Penalty. Whoever violates this chapter shall be guilty of a class A environmental misdemeanor for each offense.70 Del. Laws, c. 275, § 42;

§ 701. Game animals. The following shall be considered game animals:Mink, snapping turtle, raccoon, opossum, gray squirrel, otter, muskrat, red fox, rabbit, frog, deer, skunk, weasel, and beaver. The Bryant fox-squirrel, otherwise known as the “sciurus niger branti,” shall be pro…

§ 702. Game birds. The following shall be considered game birds: The Anatidae, commonly known as geese, brant and river and sea ducks; the Rallidae, commonly known as rails, coots, mudhens and gallinules; the Limicolae, commonly known as shore birds, plovers, surf birds, snipe, w…

§ 703. Open season for game. The open season during which it shall be lawful to catch, kill or pursue or attempt to catch, kill or pursue muskrat, or to hunt red fox by chase only shall, respectively, be as follows, including, in each instance, the days defining the open season: …

§ 704. Prohibited hunting and trapping devices and methods; confiscation of devices; primitive weapon season. (a) No person shall make use of any pitfall, deadfall, scaffold, cage, snare, trap, net, pen, baited hook, lure, urine or baited field or any other similar device for the…

§ 705. Visiting traps within 24-hour periods; killing of trapped animals. (a) No person who sets or makes use of any trap, except for muskrats, shall permit more than 24 hours to elapse between visits to such trap. (b) Notwithstanding § 704(d) of this title, a .22 caliber rimfire…

§ 706. Damaging nest, den or lair of protected wildlife or trees, stumps or logs on another’s property. No person shall needlessly destroy, break or interfere with any nest, den or lair of any bird or animal protected by the laws of this State, or set fire to, burn, bark or in an…

§ 707. Hunting or shooting from motor vehicle, boats or farm machinery prohibited; penalty. (a) No person shall shoot at or kill any bird or animal protected by the laws of this State by means of any firearms or projectile weapons at any time or place while such person is the occ…

§ 708. Loaded firearms or projectile weapons prohibited in or on motor vehicles, motorboats or farm machinery. No person shall, for purposes of taking wildlife, have a loaded firearm or projectile weapon in that person’s possession in, against or on any automobile, other vehicle,…

§ 709. Hours for hunting; federal laws and regulations; prohibitions and exceptions. No person shall pursue, catch, take or kill any migratory bird or fowl except within the hours permitted by federal laws and regulations. No person shall pursue, catch, take or kill any animal pr…

§ 710. Use of silencer on firearm or airgun; penalty. Whoever uses a silencer or noise-reducing contrivance on any firearm or airgun when hunting for game or fowl, shall be guilty of a class C environmental violation.Code 1915, § 2381A; 35 Del. Laws, c. 169, § 1; Code 1935, § 283…

§ 711. Hunting with automatic-loading gun prohibited; penalty. (a) No person shall hunt for game birds or game animals in this State, except as authorized by state-sanctioned federal depredation/conservation orders for selected waterfowl species, with or by means of any automatic…

§ 712. Sunday hunting. (a) Hunting or pursuing game birds and game animals shall be permitted on Sundays if: (1) Related to training dogs, (2) A person is hunting red foxes with dogs, (3) A person is participating in commercial game preserve operations in accordance with the prov…

§ 713. Fire regulations; penalty. (a) No person shall: (1) Fire or cause to be fired, any woodlot, forest or other wild land or property, material or vegetation being or growing thereon, other than brush in clearing land, either by dropping lighted matches, tobacco or other subst…

§ 714. Trespassing; penalty. Whoever enters upon the lands or waters of another within this State, without first obtaining permission to do so from the owner or lessee, for the purpose of hunting, trapping or fishing, shall be guilty of a class C environmental violation.Code 1852…

§ 715. Possession of protected wildlife; prohibitions. (a) No person shall have more than 2 times the daily bag limit or creel limit of any game bird, game animal or game fish in that person’s possession at any 1 time when it is lawful to possess such wildlife, except that posses…

§ 716. Hunting, fishing or trapping without a license; penalties. Any person required by this title to obtain a license before hunting, trapping or fishing in this State and who hunts, traps or fishes without having obtained such license shall be guilty of a class C environmental…

§ 717. Frightening or harassing migratory birds; penalties. Any person who shall frighten or harass migratory birds while at rest on the property of another by use of a rifle, shotgun or any other weapon, shall be guilty of a class C environmental violation.7 Del. C. 1953, § 724;…

§ 718. Requiring wearing of hunter orange in the hunting of deer; violation and penalty. (a) “Hunter orange” means a daylight fluorescent orange color with a dominant wave length between 595 and 605 nanometers, and exotation purity of not less than 85 percent and illuminous facto…

§ 719. Discharge of firearms or projectile weapons on or near public roads and public rights-of-way; penalty. (a) No person, except in lawful self-defense, shall discharge any firearm or projectile weapon while on or within 15 yards of a public road or right-of-way unless it is a…

§ 720. Conditional permits for disabled persons. Notwithstanding §§ 707, 708 and 719 of this title, the Director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, upon written application and presentation of a medical doctor’s writte…

§ 721. Killer, body-gripping traps. Anyone who sets, tends or attempts to set or tend a killer, body-gripping trap with a jaw spread in excess of 5 inches shall be guilty of a class B environmental misdemeanor for each offense.62 Del. Laws, c. 326, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 275, §§ 6…

§ 722. Prohibition against use of lights; penalties. (a) No person or persons shall hunt or attempt to hunt at nighttime any species of wild bird or wild animal with any artificial light including the headlights of any vehicle or with any device that amplifies light using a power…

§ 723. Hunting or trapping in safety zones; penalty. (a) (1) No person, except the owner or occupant, or a person with the permission of the owner or occupant, shall discharge a firearm or airgun within 100 yards of an occupied dwelling, house or residence or any barn, stable or …

§ 724. Wilful obstruction or impeding of lawful hunting, fishing or trapping activities. (a) No person shall wilfully obstruct or impede the participation of any individual in: (1) The lawful taking of fish, crabs, oysters, clams or frogs; or (2) The lawful hunting of any game bi…

§ 725. Falconry; permit; regulations; hunting. (a) No person may take, transport or possess any raptor for falconry purposes in this State without first procuring a falconry permit from the Department. The Department shall not charge a fee for a falconry permit. (b) The State her…

§ 726. Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. (1) The Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact is an interstate agreement between member states to enhance the compliance with the hunting, fishing, and other wildlife laws of member states, and provides for the fair and impartial treatm…

§ 734. Prohibitions respecting wild birds other than game birds; birds not protected. No person shall catch, kill, have in possession (living or dead), purchase, sell or expose for sale, transport or ship any wild bird other than a game bird, or any part of the plumage, skin or b…

§ 735. Nests and eggs protected. No person shall take or needlessly destroy the nests or eggs of any wild bird, nor have such nests or eggs in that person’s possession.22 Del. Laws, c. 216, § 2; Code 1915, § 2417; Code 1935, § 2891; 7 Del. C. 1953, § 742; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § …

§ 736. State game refuges; wildlife refuges. (a) All state lands, except as otherwise provided, and state, county and municipal parks in Delaware shall be state game refuges and no person shall hunt upon said lands and parks or kill or injure any game therein at any time of the y…

§ 737. Exception to application of §§ 734, 735 and 736 for holder of license for scientific purposes. Sections 734, 735 and 736 of this title shall not apply to any person holding a license giving the right to take birds and their nests and eggs for scientific purposes.22 Del. La…

§ 738. Erection and removal of booby, brush or stake blinds. No booby, brush or stake blinds shall be erected sooner than 30 days prior to the open season for the hunting of wild water fowl and all such blinds shall be removed within 30 days after the close of said season. Whoeve…

§ 739. Prohibitions respecting bald eagles; disturbing, damaging or destroying nests; eggs; penalties. (a) Any person who disturbs, destroys or in any manner damages a bald eagle’s nest or aerie shall be guilty of a class A environmental misdemeanor. (b) Any person shooting, kill…

§ 740. Crows. The crow may be hunted in accordance with federal regulations.7 Del. C. 1953, § 749; 59 Del. Laws, c. 158, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 275, § 77;

§ 741. Snow geese. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a person may hunt snow geese by any method, provided the individual complies with federal laws and regulations.72 Del. Laws, c. 52, § 1;

§ 750. Placement of traps for muskrats. The habitat of a muskrat shall be a marsh of any size, ordinarily subject to rise and fall of tide, a ditch, a stream, or land not suited to cultivation of crops due to a normally marshy condition. A trap set or found at any place other tha…

§ 751. Muskrats driven from shelter by flood or freshet. No person shall take, kill or capture, by any means whatever, any muskrat during the time of any flood or freshet, when such flood or freshet may cause any muskrat to leave its usual and accustomed place of shelter and prot…

§ 752. Hunting muskrats with dog; penalty. (a) No person shall hunt, take, catch or kill any muskrat with dog or dogs. (b) Whoever violates this section shall be guilty of a class D environmental violation for each offense.27 Del. Laws, c. 157, §§ 1, 2; Code 1915, §§ 2388, 2392B;…