Title 23, Title 23 — Game And Fish

Special limited fishing permit for hospitalized veterans, residents of state institutions, court placed children and residents of licensed nursing care facilities; students. (a) Upon an appropriate form furnished by the appropriate institution or facility as prescribed by rule an…

Landowners fishing generally. Notwithstanding W.S. 23-2-202, any individual who owns land wholly containing a lake, pond or ponds which derive their source of water from surface runoff, natural springs or wells may stock the lake, pond or ponds with eggs or fish with the consent …

Wyoming sport fishing day; fishing exempt from licensure. The commission may annually designate not more than one (1) day each calendar year as a free sport fishing day. Residents and nonresidents may during the designated free sport fishing day, without payment of any fee and wi…

Miscellaneous fees; verification of residency required. (a) Repealed by Laws 1999, ch. 92, § 2. (b) Repealed by Laws 2004, ch. 124, §3. (c) The following licenses and tags may be purchased for the fee indicated in addition to the applicable fee under W.S. 23-1-701 and subject to …

Taxidermist's license; bond; game specimens must be tagged; records. (a) Any person who conducts business for the purpose of mounting, preserving or preparing wildlife specimens shall apply for and receive a taxidermist's license upon payment of the proper fee prior to receiving …

Trapping licenses; tagging; traps and snares; penalty; confiscation; inspection; interference with trapping. (a) Any person may, in the discretion of the department upon application and the payment of the proper fee, receive a license to trap any furbearing animal. The department…

Fur dealers; licenses; hides; tagging. (a) Any person who desires to engage in the business of buying, collecting, selling, or shipping raw furs other than hides from cloven hoof big game animals shall apply for and pay to the department the proper fee for a resident fur dealer's…

Capture of furbearing animals for domestication; license; fee. Any resident person who desires to capture furbearing animals for domestication or propagation shall apply for and pay to the department the proper fee for a license to capture furbearing animals for the purposes of d…

Conservation stamp; exemptions. (a) Subject to subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section and the applicable fee under W.S. 23-1-701, each sportsman licensed under W.S. 23-2-101, 23-2-107 or 23-2-201 shall purchase a single conservation stamp for twenty-one dollars ($21.00) whi…

Special management permit. (a) The commission may by rule and regulation define those special management programs which require additional expenditures for the propagation, stocking or feeding of wildlife, for designated trophy management areas and for hunting and fishing field d…

Guides required; exceptions; issuance of resident guide license. (a) No nonresident shall hunt big or trophy game animals on any designated wilderness area, as defined by federal or state law, in this state unless accompanied by a licensed professional guide or a resident guide. …

Definitions. (a) As used in this act: (i) "Advertises" means attempting by any means, including the Internet, the World Wide Web or a similar proprietary or common carrier electronic system, to induce persons to enter into an agreement with an outfitter to receive guide or packin…

License required for outfitters and professional guides. (a) No person shall hold himself out as, engage in the business of or act in the capacity of an outfitter or shall provide guide services or packing services for the purpose of taking any big or trophy game animal unless he…

Wyoming state board of outfitters and professional guides; membership; meetings; compensation. (a) The Wyoming state board of outfitters and professional guides is established within the department of administration and information and shall consist of seven (7) members as follow…

Legal representation. The board may request the attorney general of this state to provide legal opinions or may employ an attorney to represent the board. Fees and expenses of the attorney general arising from such duties shall be paid from the account created by W.S. 23-2-414(d)…

Powers and duties of board; generally; employees; licensing and regulation. (a) The board shall: (i) Adopt an official seal; (ii) Carry out the provisions of this act and in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, adopt necessary rules and regulations for carryi…

Outfitter qualifications for licensure; licensed outfitter may act as professional guide; required reporting of criminal history. (a) An applicant for an outfitter's license shall in addition to any other criteria imposed by rule and regulation of the board, possess the following…

Qualifications for professional guide's license; valid during employment by outfitter only. (a) An applicant for a professional guide's license under this act shall meet the following qualifications: (i) At least eighteen (18) years of age; (ii) Employed by or operating under an …

Application for licensure; fee; required examination; investigation by board; liability insurance required for outfitters. (a) Application for a license authorized by this act shall be made upon a form prescribed and furnished by the board, contain information required by the boa…

License issuance; fees; term of license; renewal; disposition of collected fees. (a) Upon passage of required examination and if it determines the applicant is otherwise in compliance with the requirements of this act and its rules and regulations, the board may issue a license u…

Licensed outfitters and professional guides to report violations. An outfitter or professional guide licensed under this act shall promptly report any violation of federal or state law or regulation governing wildlife, game and fish observed by him to any commissioned game and fi…

License suspension and revocation; grounds; payment of damages; proceedings. (a) The board may require a licensee to pay damages as provided by subsection (b) of this section, may refuse to issue or renew or may suspend or revoke a license issued under this act or may otherwise d…

Violations in general; penalties. (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any person violating any provision of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). (b) In addition to subsection (a) of this…

Compensation of person not licensed under this act prohibited; penalty. (a) No person shall directly or indirectly compensate a person holding himself out as engaging in the business of or acting in the capacity of an outfitter or a professional guide unless that person provides …

Taking eagle prohibited. Any person who takes an eagle is guilty of a high misdemeanor punishable as provided in W.S. 23-6-202(a)(ii) unless the taking is authorized by federal law or commission rules adopted in compliance with federal law.

Taking certain game animals without license or during a closed season prohibited. (a) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, any person who takes any big or trophy game animal or gray wolf where classified as a trophy game animal without the proper license or autho…

Taking predatory animals, predacious birds and trophy animals; taking furbearing animals and game birds without license prohibited. (a) Predatory animals and predacious birds may be taken without a license in any manner and at any time except as provided by W.S. 6-3-1005(a)(iii),…

Coupons. When any big game animal, trophy game animal or turkey is killed under a license, the licensee shall detach, sign and date the proper coupon and attach the coupon to the carcass before leaving the site of the kill. The coupon shall remain on the game animal or turkey car…

Antelope, deer and elk coupons; payment to landowner; kill on federal or state land. (a) Antelope, deer and elk licenses shall have two (2) coupons attached, each bearing the same serial number as the body of the permit, one (1) designated "antelope, deer or elk coupon" and one (…

Wyoming game and Wyoming interstate game tags; when required. (a) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section and W.S. 23-2-302(e), no person shall ship, transport, or receive for shipment or transportation within Wyoming, any game animal, game bird, or any part thereof,…

Wanton destruction of big game animal; reward. (a) No person shall wantonly take or destroy any big or trophy game animal. (b) The director may offer a standing reward not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) to be paid from the game and fish fund for evidence leading to th…

Destruction of bird nests or eggs. (a) No person shall take or intentionally destroy the nest or eggs of any nonpredacious bird, except as authorized under W.S. 23-5-111. The nest or eggs of any predacious bird may be taken or destroyed. (b) Violation of this section for any nonp…

Use of dogs; dogs injuring big or trophy game animals may be killed; citation of owners of dogs harassing game animals; penalties; leashed dogs for tracking. (a) No person shall use any dog to hunt, run or harass any big or trophy game animal, protected animal or furbearing anima…

Firearms; types permitted for hunting game birds. (a) The commission shall establish by rule and regulation firearm and ammunition specifications for taking game birds or wild turkeys. (b) Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. 54, § 2. (c) Violation of this section or rules promulgated unde…

Firearms; size of guns to be used in hunting big or trophy game animals. (a) The commission shall establish by rule and regulation firearm and ammunition specifications for taking big or trophy game animals. (i) Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. 54, § 2. (ii) Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. …

Firearms; automatic weapon prohibited; use of silencer or suppressor to take big or trophy game restricted; penalties. (a) No person shall take any wildlife with any fully automatic weapon. (b) Violation of this section is separate and additional to any other violation and consti…

Hunters required to wear colored clothing. (a) No person other than archers and crossbow hunters hunting during a special archery season shall hunt any big or trophy game animal in Wyoming without wearing in a visible manner one (1) or more exterior garments which shall include a…

Landowner may take beaver causing damage. Any beaver flooding meadows, damming irrigation systems or constructing dams or ponds which would be dangerous to livestock on any privately owned lands or on state lands, may be immediately taken by the landowner, lessee of state lands o…

Taking black bear, mountain lion, gray wolf, bobcat, weasel, badger, squirrels or muskrat for damaging property. (a) Any black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, weasel, badger, gray, red and fox squirrels or muskrat doing damage to private property may be immediately taken and killed …

Ownership of game bird; taking of privately owned game birds. Any person who wishes to acquire game birds from any private source shall apply for and receive a permit from the department prior to acquiring, possessing or transporting the game birds. Upon receipt of the game birds…

Bighorn sheep; registration of horns; penalties. A licensee who harvests a bighorn sheep or any person who picks up or removes horns from any bighorn sheep, after July 1, 1997, shall present the horns at a regional office of the department during normal business hours to be regis…

Fishing tackle; designation of waters for setline fishing; taking fish with firearm prohibited; snagging; penalties. (a) Except as otherwise provided, fish may only be taken or fished for with a maximum of two (2) rods or poles, with lines and hooks attached, and with the user in…

Use of live fish and corn as bait. (a) The commission may designate specified waters in which live fish or corn may be used as bait, and may designate the types of and origin of live fish which may be used as bait in any waters. (b) No person shall have any live fish or bait corn…

Placing obstruction to fish across stream or lake without consent of chief fish warden prohibited; erection of fishways. (a) No person shall erect or place, or cause to be erected or placed, any net, trotline, or any similar obstruction across any river, creek, pond, or lake so a…

Substances and devices to take or destroy fish or obstruct waterways prohibited. (a) No person shall take or destroy fish in Wyoming by using any poison or deleterious drug, electrical device, chemical, explosive, or any similar substance or device except by commission order. (b)…

Shipment of fish; game tags; when required. (a) No person shall ship or transport or receive for shipment or transportation any game fish either within or without the state except as provided in subsection (b). (b) Any person lawfully taking any game fish in this state may ship n…

Commercially guided fishing boats; regulatory authority; advisory board; definitions. (a) To protect the quality of the fishing experience, the fishery and other aquatic resources and species in this state, the commission may set limits on or otherwise regulate the number of comm…

Importation and sale of wildlife prohibited; exceptions. (a) No person shall import into Wyoming from any source any living antelope, bear, deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, wolf, wolf hybrid nor any living wildlife except as otherwise permitted by th…

Sale, disposition or acquisition of edible portion of game animals, game birds or game fish. No person shall sell, barter, or dispose of for pecuniary consideration or advantage, or obtain by sale or barter any edible portion of any game animal, game bird or game fish in this sta…

Waste of edible portion of game bird, fish or animal, except trophy game animal, prohibited; abandonment of meat at meat processing plant. (a) No person shall take and leave, abandon or allow any game bird, game fish, or game animal except trophy game animal, or edible portion, t…