Title 41, Wildlife

Notwithstanding any other provision of the wildlife laws, of the moneys received from the sale of the following licenses, 25 cents from the sale of each license shall be credited to the Fish Passage Fund established under ORS 497.139: (1) Resident annual combination hunting and a…

The Fish Passage Fund is established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Interest earned by the Fish Passage Fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for purpo…

(1) There is created a Fish Passage Restoration Subaccount within the Fish Passage Fund established under ORS 497.139. Fees described in ORS 543.765 (15) shall be paid into the subaccount. The State Department of Fish and Wildlife may solicit and accept additional moneys for cred…

(1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission is authorized to issue, upon application, to persons desiring to take fur-bearing mammals the following licenses and shall charge the applicable fee under the fee schedule in ORS 497.061: (a) Resident annual license to trap or hunt fur-b…

(1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission, by rule, shall prescribe and administer a trapper education program to provide instruction in the proper use of trapping equipment. The program may also include instruction on wildlife and natural resource conservation, firearms safety,…

(1)(a) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission is authorized to issue, upon application, to resident persons desiring to hunt migratory waterfowl an annual migratory waterfowl stamp and shall charge the applicable fee under the fee schedule in ORS 497.061. (b) The commission is au…

(1)(a) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission is authorized to issue, upon application, to resident persons desiring to hunt upland birds an annual upland bird stamp and shall charge the applicable fee under the fee schedule in ORS 497.061. (b) The commission is authorized to iss…

(1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission is authorized to issue, upon application, to nonresident persons 18 years of age or older desiring to hunt either migratory waterfowl or upland birds an annual bird-waterfowl stamp and shall charge the applicable fee under the fee schedu…

The State Fish and Wildlife Commission may adopt a system for renewing licenses issued under ORS 497.102, 497.121, 497.127 and 497.132 through the mail or the World Wide Web. [2001 c.559 §2; 2015 c.779 §49; 2019 c.102 §4] Note: 497.158 was added to and made a part of the wildlife…

(1) Upon application of the Oregon Youth Authority, the Oregon Health Authority or the Department of Human Services, the State Fish and Wildlife Commission shall issue, without fee, a license to angle for the temporary use of any person in a state institution as described in ORS …

The State Fish and Wildlife Commission shall furnish a permanent hunting and angling license, without payment of fee, to all Columbia River Indians who are eligible to hunt and angle under the terms of the Treaty of 1855 between the Columbia River Indians and the United States of…

(1) No person shall engage in the business of buying the skins or pelts of any fur-bearing mammal unless the person has first obtained from the State Fish and Wildlife Commission a fur dealer license. (2) Every fur dealer shall maintain a record of transactions involving the skin…

(1) No person shall engage in the business of propagating game birds or game mammals for sale unless a wildlife propagation license is first obtained from the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. (2) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission may refuse to issue a license to an app…

(1) No person shall engage in the business of taxidermy unless the person first obtains from the State Fish and Wildlife Commission a taxidermist license. (2) Every licensed taxidermist shall maintain a record of the taxidermy work the person performs. The record shall be in such…

(1) No person shall engage in the business of operating a private hunting preserve for the hunting of privately owned or propagated game birds unless the person first obtains from the State Fish and Wildlife Commission a private hunting preserve license. (2) The commission shall …

(1) In addition to the penalties provided in ORS 496.992, the State Department of Fish and Wildlife may revoke or refuse to renew a license issued under ORS 497.248 if the operator fails to comply with any provision of ORS 497.248 or any rule adopted by the State Fish and Wildlif…

(1) Except as provided in ORS 508.700 to 508.745 and 622.220, no person shall engage in the business of propagating game fish or food fish for sale unless a fish propagation license is first obtained from the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. (2) The State Fish and Wildlife …

The State Department of Fish and Wildlife is authorized to issue, upon application, to persons desiring to engage in the following occupations the following licenses and shall charge the applicable fees under the fee schedule in ORS 497.061: (1) Resident annual fur dealer license…

The holder of any license issued pursuant to ORS 497.218 to 497.248 shall consent to the inspection by any person authorized to enforce the wildlife laws of any such license and any records the holder is required to keep by the wildlife laws or any rule promulgated pursuant there…

(1) Any person desiring to take wildlife for scientific purposes shall first obtain from the State Fish and Wildlife Commission a scientific taking permit. The commission, by rule, shall prescribe a procedure for applying for permits and the form thereof, and shall prescribe the …

(1) No person shall remove from its natural habitat or acquire and hold in captivity any live wildlife in violation of the wildlife laws or any rule adopted thereunder. (2) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of subsection (1) of thi…

(1) Any rules promulgated by the State Fish and Wildlife Commission pursuant to ORS 497.308 that authorize the acquisition and holding in captivity of a coyote must require, among other matters: (a) That the holder of the permit obtain for the animal rabies inoculations; (b) That…

In accordance with any applicable provision of ORS chapter 183, the State Fish and Wildlife Commission may revoke a permit issued pursuant to ORS 497.298 or 497.308 if the commission determines that the holder of the permit has violated any of the terms or conditions thereof. Rev…

(1) A person may not operate a fish hatchery for those members of the family Acipenseridae, commonly known as green sturgeon or white sturgeon, without holding a permit therefor from the State Fish and Wildlife Commission. (2) Any permit issued pursuant to this section shall be s…

When considering an application for a permit under ORS 497.325, the State Fish and Wildlife Commission shall, to the greatest extent practicable, give priority to any person who holds a permit on December 31, 2007, unless the commission finds good cause not to give such priority.…

(1) No person younger than 12 years of age shall hunt antelope, black bear, cougar, deer, elk, mountain goat, mountain sheep or moose. (2) No person younger than 14 years of age shall hunt with a firearm or bow and arrow unless the person is accompanied by an adult, or is hunting…

(1) No person younger than 18 years of age shall hunt wildlife, except on the person’s own land or land owned by the parent or legal guardian of the person, unless the person: (a) Has in possession a certificate, issued by the State Fish and Wildlife Commission or by an agency of…

No person shall: (1) Apply for, obtain or possess for personal use or for the use of any other person more licenses, tags or permits issued by the State Fish and Wildlife Commission than are authorized for personal use during the current year by the wildlife laws and rules promul…

(1) When any person is convicted of a violation of law or any rule adopted pursuant thereto or otherwise fails to comply with the requirements of a citation in connection with such violation as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the court may order the State Fish and Wil…

(1) In addition to any other penalty authorized by law, a court may order the State Fish and Wildlife Commission to revoke all licenses, tags and permits issued to a person in the manner provided for in ORS 497.415 if the person: (a) Is, as provided for in ORS 496.992, convicted …

No person who has had a license, tag or permit revoked pursuant to ORS 497.415 shall engage in the activity for which the license, tag or permit is required: (1) During the remainder of the period for which the license, tag or permit was issued; or (2) During the period for which…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Fur-bearing mammal,” “hunt” and “wildlife” have the meanings given those terms in ORS 496.004. (b) “Predatory animals” means those animals listed in ORS 610.002, black bears, cougars, fur-bearing mammals and gray wolves. (2)(a) Each application f…

(1) The Wildlife Conservation Fund is established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Interest earned by the Wildlife Conservation Fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the State Department of Fish …

(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…