Title 41, Wildlife

(1) Wildlife is the property of the state. No person shall angle for, take, hunt, trap or possess, or assist another in angling for, taking, hunting, trapping or possessing any wildlife in violation of the wildlife laws or of any rule promulgated pursuant thereto. (2) No person s…

Except as the State Fish and Wildlife Commission by rule may provide otherwise, no person shall chase, harass, molest, worry or disturb any wildlife except while engaged in lawfully angling for, taking, hunting or trapping such wildlife. [1973 c.723 §74; 2003 c.656 §11]

(1) Nothing in the wildlife laws is intended to prevent any person from taking any wildlife that is causing damage, is a public nuisance or poses a public health risk on land that the person owns or lawfully occupies. However, no person shall take, pursuant to this subsection, at…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Chronic depredation”: (A) Means at least four confirmed qualifying incidents of depredation by wolves upon livestock or working dogs within a consecutive six-month period during phase 1 of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan adopted …

Nothing in the wildlife laws is intended to prohibit any person from killing any crippled or helpless wildlife when the killing is done for a humane purpose. Any person so killing any wildlife shall immediately report such killing to a person authorized to enforce the wildlife la…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Chronic wasting disease” means a type of spongiform encephalopathy that is transmissible among cervids and typified by chronic and fatal weight loss. (b) “Commercial cervid attractant” means a marketed product that contains or is derived from cer…

(1) If the State Fish and Wildlife Commission, pursuant to its authority under ORS 498.022, establishes a license for the purchase of deer, elk and antelope hides and antlers, any person holding such license shall also be authorized to purchase, sell or exchange, or offer to purc…

This section and the amendments to ORS 498.022 by section 2, chapter 3, Oregon Laws 2017, shall be known and cited as the “Wildlife Trafficking Prevention Act.” [2017 c.3 §1] Note: 498.021 was enacted into law but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 498 or any series t…

(1) Except as the State Fish and Wildlife Commission by rule may provide otherwise, but subject to subsection (2) of this section, a person may not purchase, sell or exchange, or offer to purchase, sell or exchange any wildlife, or any part of any wildlife. (2)(a) Except as provi…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, no person shall take, import, export, transport, purchase or sell, or attempt to take, import, export, transport, purchase or sell, any threatened species or endangered species, or the skin, hides or other parts thereof, o…

(1) No person shall offer for sale, trade, barter or exchange as a household pet any fox, skunk or raccoon. (2) An animal specified in subsection (1) of this section may be offered for sale, trade, barter or exchange to a public park, zoo, museum or educational institution for ed…

No person shall angle for or hunt, or offer to angle for or hunt, for compensation, any wildlife in violation of any provision of the wildlife laws or any rule promulgated pursuant thereto. [1973 c.723 §78]

Except as the State Fish and Wildlife Commission by rule may provide otherwise, no person shall possess in the field or forest, or in transit from the field or forest, the carcass of any wildlife that has been skinned, plucked or mutilated in any manner so that the sex, size or s…

(1) In this state, a person may not sell, offer for sale or otherwise participate in the sale or offer for sale of wildlife that is sold alive for the purpose of human consumption. (2) This section does not apply to the otherwise lawful sale, offer for sale or other participation…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person may not remove the following parts from the carcass of any wildlife and utilize only those parts so removed: (a) From the carcass of any game mammal or game bird, the head, antlers, horns, hide or plumage. (b) Fro…

No person shall place any toxic substance where it is accessible to wildlife unless the substance used and the method of application is approved by the state governmental agencies having authority to prescribe or implement environmental control programs. [1973 c.723 §81]

A person may not use an M44 cyanide device, cyanide trap, cyanide gun or similar device designed to propel a dose of sodium cyanide into an animal for the purpose of taking the animal. [2019 c.81 §2] Note: 498.048 was added to and made a part of the wildlife laws by legislative a…

No person shall release within this state any domestically raised wildlife or wildlife brought to this state from any place outside this state unless the person first obtains a permit therefor from the State Fish and Wildlife Commission. [1973 c.723 §82]

No person who is the occupant of a motor vehicle that is moving on a road open to the public shall aim a rifle or other firearm from the motor vehicle at a time when the hunting of wildlife is lawful. [1993 c.440 §4]

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Beaver” means a member of the species Castor canadensis. (b) “Forestland” has the meaning given that term in ORS 527.620. (2) A person that takes a beaver on privately owned forestland shall report the taking to the State Department of Fish and W…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Beaver” means a member of the species Castor canadensis. (b) “Forest practices” has the meaning given that term in ORS 527.620. (c) “Forestland” has the meaning given that term in ORS 527.620. (d) “Small forestland” means forestland whose owner o…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Forestland” has the meaning given that term in ORS 527.620. (b) “Small forestland” has the meaning given that term in ORS 498.062. (2) A person may not solicit or accept a fee for trapping a beaver on privately owned forestland other than small f…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Human-constructed water conveyance infrastructure”: (A) Means infrastructure built by a human to move water from a source to a place of use. (B) Does not mean a section of a river or stream that is used to convey water between an upstream ditch o…

(1) As used in this section, “prohibited species” means a species that may not be imported, possessed, sold, purchased, exchanged or transported in this state, as established by rule by the State Fish and Wildlife Commission. (2) The commission shall review and update the list of…

(1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission may institute suit for recovery of damages in the amount of $2,500 for a violation of a rule related to the list of prohibited species, as defined in ORS 498.072. (2) Each action in violation of a rule related to the list of prohibited s…

(1) Any dog that is not wearing a collar with a license number thereon in compliance with ORS 609.100 that is found unlawfully hunting, running or tracking any game mammal or game bird may be killed at such time by any person authorized to enforce the wildlife laws. (2) If a dog …

Competitive field trials for hunting dogs may be held at such times and places and under such conditions as the State Fish and Wildlife Commission may prescribe by rule. [1973 c.723 §85]

No person shall use any live bird as a target for the purpose of competitive shooting. [1973 c.723 §86]

(1) No person shall hunt upon the cultivated or enclosed land of another without first obtaining permission from the owner or lawful occupant thereof, or the agent of such owner or occupant. No prosecution shall be commenced under this section except upon written complaint filed …

(1) A person may not: (a) Hunt game mammals or game birds from or with the aid of an aircraft. (b) Transmit from an aircraft to a person not in the aircraft information regarding the location of any game mammals or game birds. (c) Otherwise use an aircraft to assist another perso…

(1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission shall adopt rules prohibiting the use of drones for the following purposes related to the pursuit of wildlife: (a) Angling; (b) Hunting; (c) Trapping; (d) Aiding angling, hunting or trapping through the use of drones to harass, track, lo…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person may not hunt wildlife from a motor-propelled vehicle. (2) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission, by rule, may authorize hunting from a motor-propelled vehicle by a person with a disability or for the purpose of a…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, no person shall hunt wildlife with the aid of any artificial light. (2) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission, by rule, may authorize hunting with the aid of an artificial light for the purpose of taking raccoon, opossum …

(1) No person shall cast from a motor vehicle or from within 500 feet of a motor vehicle an artificial light upon any game mammal, predatory animal or livestock while there is in the possession or in the immediate physical presence of the person a weapon with which the game mamma…

(1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission may enter into agreements with the owners or lawful possessors of land to restrict the operation or parking of motor-propelled vehicles on the land when the commission determines that such operation or parking is damaging wildlife or wil…

A person who operates or parks a motor-propelled vehicle in violation of restrictions established and posted under ORS 498.152, and any owner of the vehicle who authorizes the operation or parking of the vehicle, commits a Class A violation. [1987 c.798 §3; 1999 c.1051 §194; 2011…

(1) In all prosecutions against the owner of a motor-propelled vehicle under ORS 498.153, it shall be sufficient for a police officer to charge the defendant by an unsworn written notice if the notice clearly states: (a) The date, place and nature of the charge. (b) The time and …

If a vehicle owner cited under ORS 498.154 to appear in a circuit or justice court upon an alleged parking offense fails to appear on or before the date and time stated on the citation, the court and the Department of Transportation may take such actions as are otherwise authoriz…

(1) Except as provided in ORS 448.305 and in subsection (2) of this section, no person shall hunt or trap any wildlife within the boundaries of any city, public park, cemetery or on any school lands. (2) No hunting or trapping shall be allowed on any lands within the boundaries o…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, a person may not use bait to attract or take black bears or use one or more dogs to hunt or pursue black bears or cougars. (2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section prohibits the use of bait or one or more dog…

(1) Notwithstanding the licensing and tag requirements of ORS 497.102, 497.112, 497.127 and 497.132, a person may take a cougar or bear that poses a threat to human safety. (2) Any person who takes a cougar or bear pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall immediately repo…

(1) A person who does not have a visual impairment and who accompanies a hunter who possesses a visually impaired hunter license may: (a) Assist the hunter in selecting a game animal or bird; (b) Assist the aiming or sighting of a firearm; (c) Advise the hunter when to fire a fir…

(1) A person holding a license issued under ORS 497.142 may not set a trap for fur-bearing mammals without checking the trap at least once during each 48-hour period. (2) A person may not set a trap for a predatory animal, as defined in ORS 610.002, without checking the trap on a…

(1) A person may not offer for sale or sell a hunt for feral swine on public or private lands. (2) Violation of subsection (1) of this section is a Class A misdemeanor. A person may not be convicted under this subsection if a civil penalty has been imposed against the person unde…

(1) A person, or an employee of that person who acts as a land manager, may not knowingly, as defined in ORS 161.085, allow feral swine to roam on land owned or controlled by that person. (2) A person, or an employee of that person who acts as a land manager, shall take action in…

(1) Except as the State Fish and Wildlife Commission by rule may provide otherwise, no person shall: (a) Use in any body of water any electric current that may attract, frighten, retard, stun, kill or obstruct the movement of any game fish. (b) Place in any body of water any fore…

Except as the State Fish and Wildlife Commission by rule may provide otherwise, no person shall trespass upon or angle from any fishway or angle within an area of a body of water bounded by a line extending across the body of water 200 feet above the upper end of a fishway and a …

(1) No person shall: (a) Transport any live fish unless the person has first obtained a permit therefor from the State Fish and Wildlife Commission. (b) Release or attempt to release into any body of water any live fish that was not taken from that body of water, unless the perso…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section: (a) No person shall possess or import into this state from the waters of the Pacific Ocean beyond the boundaries of this state any game fish unless the person has in possession those valid angling licenses, tags and permit…

(1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission shall, by rule, establish a program to protect all finfish and shellfish in waters of this state, both public and private, from infection by the introduction of detrimental fish diseases. (2) Rules adopted under subsection (1) of this se…